Mad Macedonian

100 Word Musings 4: A Snail's Journey Ends...Six Years Later

In July 2010 I began a series of what I hoped would be a new collection of stories...

What Thanks Do I Get? A 100 Word Musing

Things happened and it was not until January 2011 that I cranked out a 2nd one...

100 Word Musings 2: The Golden String

100 Word Musings 3 (A Revival): New Year's Resolution

Now, at long last, I've been inspired to write a new one! :-D

(Between them, Nikita and Elvira, my Cats, have posted more, hee, hee!)

A Snail's Journey Ends...Six Years Later

I'm tired, but happy, and relieved.
In 2006 I'd set out to reach my lady love before Snike Snailoney could marry her.
A wrong turn landed me on old Route 66, in Radiator Hot Springs.
4 years later I found an exit to return me to the right road.
Reaching the hometown of my sweetie and asking around, I kept getting strange looks.

As I approached her home, the door opened and there she was.
Before I could apologize my beloved gave me a loving, exasperated smile, saying,
"What in the hell took you so long, you big Gastropod Molluskie?"

NEXT: 100 Word Musings 5: Life is Like a Package of Hot Dogs

Dear Great Creator: On Texas, Life, Career, Creativity

Dear Lord,

It's me, The Mad Macedonian with 2 Cats as Creative Muses.

Over the last 2 years I've been turning to Your word and the works of those mere mortals who have been writing about issues of faith and creative inspiration, to help me find the strength to make it through each day and take new steps on my own personal and creative journey.

I know You have a busy schedule, and I'm most likely #1, 981,313,666 on your list of people to check in on, so I thought I'd try a letter and hope for the best, knowing that You work on a time frame that is beyond my ability to fully grasp, but has my best interests at heart. I've taken up journaling and this letter is an attempt to gather certain thoughts, written over time, together as one narrative.

At the end of August 2010 I found myself unemployed, after accepting a buyout and trying to think of the future. Thanks to the buyout I had a huge savings and even larger 401K and was soon getting Unemployment. Over the next 2 months contact with the local One Stop Career Center led nowhere except to a  much improved new look to a 6 year old resume. So I decided to go to Adult School and take a range of  computer classes to improve my Marketable Skills (Word, Powerpoint, Adobe PSE, even a little Excel). This lasted through April 2011 and I got various Certificates of Completion for each.

Meanwhile, that same fall, a notion first took hold in my brain...How about moving to Texas and starting fresh? I went online, did the research on jobs and affordable rent and chose about 20 cities, requesting all the free relocation guides they had to offer. By January, deep into my computer classes and my blogging, I let thoughts of the Lonestar State slip to the back of my list of priorities.

Then, in late May... I went down into a ditch to check on a black Cat...I know, I know, Lord, brilliant idea! Well, I was only, um, caring for the least among my neighbors. The ungrateful little furball fled the scene, though several months later I briefly encountered him again and he swore he had only went for help and it wasn't his fault I'd been rescued by the time he got back. I forgave him. :-D

Anyway, for the rest of the Summer I had more important things to worry about than a job, or relocating to Texas. Stuck initially with a ton of medical bills, to add to my small credit debt, by the end of the Summer and early Fall, I was totally debt free. At the same time, while I lost Unemployment, I gained much more, financially via being put on Disability and my rent was able to be reduced from $1004 a mo. to $640 (This for a 528 sq. ft. studio, mind you.) and I was able to build back up my dwindling checking/savings. I was as surprised as I was grateful, at all these events and I know You must have had a hand in it somehow.

By Mid-Fall I was out of a cast and into Physical Therapy and my thoughts began to return to Texas.

Lord, from Winter 2010, through the Summer, I'd been buying and reading, a number of self-help, faith, inspiration and confidence building books, including most of the books by Julia Cameron, even retiring my old King James for 2 bibles, with very different takes on learning from and about Your word and as things went from disaster to recovery, that Summer, my thoughts returned to the future and I dug out those old relocation guides and looked online for new info on the job and rental fronts in Texas.

Up to know, Lord, only a select few friends have known of my interest in Texas. I've been afraid to mention it on my blogs because there are some in my life who will not understand, just as they have had a hard time understanding me and my writing and blogging. Many of my thoughts have stayed in my Morning Pages and other Journal, only now, with the sharing of this letter to You, appearing on my blog for all the world to read (Mostly spambots but, You willing, others will read it as well, I hope.)

I would like to move to Texas , giving myself the chance to start fresh and build a new life and new career. I want the chance to have new experiences in a fresh, unfamiliar, environment that I can grow to love and gain creative inspiration from, as much if not more so, than where I've lived all my life. I want the chance to meet new people and make new friends, maybe meet at last a few I already have for the first time face to face. I want to live in an environment where I will have the freedom to learn and blossom as a writer and blogger, no longer worried about what some may think of me and the way I choose to live.

There is no payoff, Lord, that I can see, in remaining in Ca.. The cost of living here is too high for me, as a single Middle-aged man and unemployment is way too high as well. I'm lucky to have an apartment I can afford to rent. Living in Ca. has given me a sense of comfort, safety and security that comes with the familiar and routine. I know all that is a false feeling, but it's hard to break old habits. That I've done so, repeatedly, in my life, beginning 15 years ago, is a good sign that I can do so again.

Lord, I feel that I'm at another crossroads, another such moment in my life when I have to take some bold new steps in several areas of my personal and creative lives and go with the flow, seeing where these new directions will lead me. Two days before the start of this year I went for a walk in a beautiful and peaceful place, to clear my head, think and write. I soon found myself sitting at a picnic table in a quiet corner of Clark Regional Park...An occasional car rolled by, I could hear children playing on a nearby playground and Ducks gossiping, or possibly talking politics, in the nearby lake. Aside from Birds in the trees there was nothing to disturb me as I rested, reading a book and writng in my notebook.

The year just ended didn't turn out the way I'd expected it to, Lord but, for what it's worth, I know I have You to be thankful to for the reasonably positive nature of the outcome. :-D

It was a year of new skills learned, new friends made online, but even as the ankle injury slowed me down a while, I began to hesitantly consider the future. Where I'm headed next, I'm not entirely sure and one reason for this missive is to hopefully get some reassurrance and guidance, from You and Your Team, as I move slowly forward into the rest of my life. Afterall You are the one who has access to my Full Playbook, I just do my best to perform my part with the knowledge and guidance You provide, Your will be done.

The things I thought about, that day at the park, led me to take a photo and use it as the new header of my personal blog...a statement boldly proclaiming to the world...I AM A WRITER!!!

Did You have something to do with that little bit of inspiration popping into my head, that day?

As I mentioned, I don't believe there is a future for me in Ca.. I feel I must somehow find a way to move on, move elsewhere and start fresh. I have hopes and dreams and ideas, for my writing and Cat blogging, only needing to find and learn ways to act on them. With entries on my blogs, since last Summer, from poems to stories, reviews, opinions and journalism, to a Creative Writer's Prayer and new steps at Platform Building I've begun to learn about, I've taken  what I think are  positive steps leading into Fall 2012 and beyond.

I trust that You, Lord, have plans for me going forward and I believe that all that has been happening this year, my thoughts and planning to move to Texas, are the right things for me at this time, now that I've healed from my injury and can find work again. I've also come to realzie that I may not wish to find a job too much like my last one, as the stress of that job, sitting at a cubicle, answering phones for 7 hrs. a day, led to my having a seizure on the job, several months before I left the job for good.

 I believe that You will make things known to me, as the need arises and I will be able to act on them with courage, determination, creativity and faith in myself and my abilities.
In a perfect world I would love to someday be a published writer whether as a freelancer, poems and stories in magazines, with books of poetry, humor, stories and my other writing. Is that possible in 5 to 10 years? With faith in myself and my abilities and if it is Your will, I believe so.

 

PYTW 39: Write About Your Fears and Overcoming Them

Prompting Yourself To Write 39

Write about your fears. This subject can shake up your life and make you aware of areas in which you need improvement. It can be a revelation if you bury your fear deeply.

My new friend, Jo Ann, is on a creative mission. It is something she calls the "365 Creativity Project" and this means she writes a blog post a day.

Not just any ordinary blog entry, mind you, but thoughtful, engaging, essays poetry and shared nature photos, ending in encouragement to the reader to engage their own creativity and write from a prompt themselves.

The prompt above was from Day 164.

Her post goes from essay to poetry, to nature photos, a photo of her adorable Dog, and things she is grateful for.

Read it here.

What follows is my take on her writing prompt...

PYTW 38: Write About the Process of Writing

Prompting Yourself  To Write 38

My prompt for you today is to write about your process of writing: The what, when, how, why, and where of your writing. Approach it any way that ignites your imagination. I think you will find an endless supply of words on the subject

Jo Ann, of Chronicle Blog - June 20, 2012

My new friend, Jo Ann, is on a creative mission. It is something she calls the "365 Creativity Project" and this means she writes a blog post a day.

Not just any ordinary blog entry, mind you, but thoughtful, engaging, essays poetry and shared nature photos, ending in encouragement to the reader to engage their own creativity and write from a prompt themselves.

The prompt above was from Day 163.

Her essay begins by discussing how some prompts inspire and others don't, then moves on to how writing must be done, wheher inspired or not.

Creativity is in each of us, and she discusses how we must put in the work to develope it.

Her cool poem is about how her life is like a straight line, but not like just any straight line. :-D

Read the post, here.

If you decide to attempt her prompt leave a link to your effort in her comments and in the comments to this post, as well. :-D

I decided to tackle her prompt by sharing a series of posts, written on this blog, since 2007, that relate to its topic in various ways.

11/11/07 - I like to write.

Always have, I guess, ever since I was in Elementary School (early 70's), then Junior High and High School (mid/late 70's), writng book reports, then letters to the editor of the local paper.

For various reasons none of that ever translated into a career path.

Joining the online discussion through message boards in 1998, then becoming a blogger, rekindled the urge to write.

You have the power to write...So take up your pen, open your heart, your mind and your soul and just let the words start flowing

-- Caroline Joy Adams

I have discovered that not only was I a storyteller and a humorist, but I was a budding Poet as well.

Who knew? :-D

Read: The Power, Challenge, and Talent to Write: And Developing it

New Year's Day 2008 -

 Writing is an act of Hope. It is a means of carving order from chaos, of challenging one's own beliefs and assumptions, of facing the world with eyes and heart wide open. Through writing, we declare a personal identity amid faceless anonymity. We find purpose and beauty and meaning even when the rational mind argues that none of these exist.

Writing, therefore, is also an act of courage.

-- Jack Hefron

Read: Writing is an Act of Hope.

 

I Am Sooo Grounded and Other Thoughts

Over the last few days I've written some things in my Morning Pages Journal, inspired by my reading of the book Finding Water by Julia Cameron, that I wanted to share...

What makes me feel grounded?

1. Caring for my Cats by feeding them, playing with them, and cleaning their litter box.

2. Riding my bike on a nice long ride, or taking a nice long walk.

3. Reading a book.

4. Doing the laundry.

5. Cleaning the apartment.

6. Cooking my own meals, or fixing a sandwich ( Though I need to do more of both!).

7. Paying my bills.

8. Going Shopping.

9. Riding the bus.

10.Corresponding with friends via e-mail.

I was born to be creative and am finding ways to access that creativity. I can't help but believe that the hand of the Great Creator has guided my creatvity the last 14 years and is guiding me now, somehow.

Roses are red, violets are blue, I believe, Dear Lord, my future is elsewhere, I truely do.

I am ready, God, for good omens, good news, positive events and steps that will take me to where I want to go next with my life and where you are guiding my steps. Taking these steps I want to believe that what I write on my blogs and in my journals will prove useful, entertaining to those who encounter it and blessed. I believe I am blessed by the friends I've made as a writer and blogger and am grateful for their advice, support and encouragement.

Please, Great Creator, send me ideas, support and guidance going forward into the future. Show me the way and give me strength and courage to survive. Send me the willingness to listen and to write and to act on what I hear.

As Julia Cameron writes, I am coming to understand that "my creative condition and my spiritual condition are one and the same." Making my writing is an act of faith, a movement toward the expansion and growth of me as a person and writer.

 

Twinkle, Twankle - One Year Later

It's been  just over a year since I broke my ankle investigating a black cat in a ditch.

A few weeks later, in a cast and on crutches, I wrote a poem and shared some photos. :-D

Twinkle, Twankle, My Poor Ankle: A Poem

My right ankle is so much better, now, thank you very much! :-D

Inspired by a new blog post of  my new writing friend, Jo Ann, I wrote a Gratitude List and then was inspired to attempt an updated version of Twinkle, Twankle. :-D

I am grateful:

1. For my friends
2. My Cats, Nikita and Elvira,are in my life, and provide creative muses.
3. I am able to think, write, and create.
4. My Ankle works again

 

The Journey

I was 42 years old when I finally began to be a creative writer.

All through my 20's and 30's, I had convinced myself that I was too busy helping my family, too busy with work, didn't have the free time, or extra money and not knowledgeable enough, to embark on a new path other than being a Bookstore clerk and later, manager.

Truth be told, being a writer never really occurred to me in any serious way.

I was comfortable in the lonely life I led, reading books, listening to my music CD's, watching my videos, watching TV, going to the movies every weekend, not interested even in the types of things my peers engaged in for a social life.

Then one day online friends helped me realize that I had talent as a writer and it occurred to me that I would age whether I began to write and blog and that I might respect myself more and build personal and creative, confidence as one of the first bike bloggers online, a poet, storyteller and amateur journalist, than as someone who stayed mostly alone, blocked and yearning.

We are never too old to learn new things, or be "young at heart". This just means being willing to be a beginner.

It took courage to allow myself to go online in 1998, to leave my bookstore job in 2001, to move to Orange County in 2002, to become a blogger that year and expand my horizons as a writer, rediscovering talent that had lain mostly dormant since the 1980's and early 90's, when I was getting comments published in comics, erasing words in a glossy Star Trek "History "Book and writing my own version in their place and surprisingly, getting an autobiographical piece published in a Star Trek Anthology.

It took courage to allow myself to begin what has been a decade long journey of learning how to express myself as a writer and find ways to build a bit of a social life, online and off.

I had to focus on taking one step at a time. I could not think of the distance I had to travel before I could call myself a poet, a storyteller, a photographer, a journalist.

Being My Own Cheerleader: A Poem

Last october I bought the 3 Julia Cameron books in her Artist's Way Trilogy, the Morning Pages Journal, and the Artist's Way Workbook, and eventually a handful of her other writing, and inspirational books, and began readng, and writing, the initial Artist's Way Program.

Artist's Way is described as a Spiritual Path to higher creativity, a personal journey of discovery of a better, more creative, you, not just career-wise, but personally, as well.

I read the first book, did the workbook, and my first collection of Morning Pages, expanding on a collection of "Thoughts to Start the Day" that hang on the wall above my desk, and writing my own "Creative Writer's Prayer".

I found myself taking up Journaling, beyond just finding a new journal for my Morning Pages.

The Light brown book is Morning Pages #2, began on Feb. 6, 2012, and completed yesterday.

The Journal next to it is the first of what I call "Thoughts & Ramblings of a Mad Macedonian. I began it on Jan. 6, and finished it yesterday as well.

The Black Journal in the center, begun on Feb. 7, is a Writing Prompts Journal, writing pieces that I end up sharing here.

I finished reading book #2 the other day, and began book #3, in the Artist's Way set, this morning.

It's been more than a month since I last wrote in it, and I am determinited to begin again.

The Cat themed Journal is my new Morning Pages Journal, and the book next to it is the new home of my Thoughts, & Ramblings.

 

PYTW 37: Inspiring? Who? Me?

Prompting Yourself  To Write 37

OK, if you say so, and many of you have, over a decade, for which I, Nikita, and Elvira, can't say enough thanks for your support, encouragement, and kindness. :-D

A new friend in writing, met thru the Platform Building series in April, Amanda Socci, is responsible for the subject of this Writing Prompt.

She's also given me other food for thought, the last few days, but that's for another time...

Define yourself, or your writing work, as  "Inspirational".

What is your own unique definition of "Inspiration"?

In what way are you inspirational?

What type of inspiration do you write about?

I began writing online in 1998, and became a blogger in 2002.

My writing, has been more than creative types of fiction, but also about sharing my opinions, interests, and hobbies, the news, what others are blogging about, and the everyday events of my life journey, and that of my Cats (Bloggers in their own right, as regular readers know ) the ups, and downs, good times, and bad.

The word "Inspiration" is defined as "The process of being mentlly, and/or emotionally, stimulated to do, or feel, something, especially to do something creative.

I can't write a definition any better than that in the dictionary. :-D

I've been so affected to do a lot of things in my personal, and creative, life, the past 14 years, and I've been told by numerous readers of my work, and the work of my Cats, and those familiar with how I've changed my life, the things I've done, and poems, stories, essays, and opinions written on our blogs have affected them in many ways.