Whew! Thought I'd make an appointment with myself to do some actual work on here! I can't believe that writers are supposed to WRITE! I've always believed that one had to do some living in order to write -- now I'm starting to suspect that real writers actually have a talent for writing, even though they are not really out there LIVING!!!!!
Much water has flowed under the proverbial bridge. Let's see....ever unsatisfied with my day job. Office politics I can handle, it's the slavery/subservience (sp?) I object to. Don't like my supervisor, don't like the way the boss let's her trample the rest of us. Neither of them have any employee skills, and they are afraid of us. Instead of "positive reinforcement", they both prefer to browbeat. I hate negativism, and that's as far as I'll go.
Spring is definitely underway, although I am not thrilled with the cool temperatures and constant rain. I haven't been able to get my kayak in the water yet, and tonight, for the first time in two weeks, I was finally able to get some of my grass mowed. I was well on my way to finishing, but the mower belt broke. My mission tomorrow is to go out and get a new belt, then replace it! I did get one of the push mowers going, but there is no way I'll do all of the rest of the yard with THAT! I love the way the yard looks when it is done. It smells great, too. The dogs are funny while I'm mowing, Princess is so aware of her leash, she moves to move the leash out of my way; and Brutus acts as though he's being punished.
Okay, now for the BIG NEWS: I am a Quasi-Celebrity. I think that would be the correct term...I have been written up in the Miami Herald, Sunday Edition... Here's the story behind the story....In February, Thelma and I took a little trip to The Florida Keys. This was my second trip there, since I have an annual conference in Miami. Why the conference? Check out my website: litds.unfranchise.com and see what else I'm up to.
Anyway, we decided to hit the Keys for a few days before my meeting. I'd already done the legwork and had motel reservations, and a little kayak trip scheduled. The rest of the time, I wanted to "chill"... and just dangle my feet in the Gulf while sipping Margaritas. Well, silly me, traveling with Thelma is anything BUT sitting! We saw nearly everything there is to see, even if only for a half an hour here, half an hour there...but we're still fast friends, and we really enjoyed ourselves. We did find the Key Deer, wild alligators and iguanas. Then we reported to the Kayak outfitter for our guided trip into the Mangroves. I'd made that reservation through the tourist office, so I wasn't sure what to expect, other than it was supposed to be a four-hour trip. When we got there, I explained that I was supposed to make the trip with two other women, but Thelma was there, couldn't swim, had never kayaked before and was quite nervous. The oufitter said "no sweat" and assigned us to another, shorter trip, "without snorkeling". WHAT????! I hadn't been aware of the snorkeling, but I agreed to the shorter trip. We had such a great time, and Thelma even enjoyed it! It was indeed a great choice.
The rest of the trip consisted of shopping, seafood, music, turtle races, shopping, hair braiding, beach, shopping, key lime pie, seafood, shopping, turtle hospital, and lots and lots of Island music, including plenty of Jimmy Buffet everywhere.
On Wednesday, I dropped Thelma at the airport and went to find my other friends for the conference starting on Thursday. This trip to Miami wasn't too bad. I was prepared for Miami this time, and despite the horrendous taxi gouging, the rest of the trip was fine. More seafood, good conference, and more shopping. Great friends.
Once I arrived home, it took me a couple weeks to remember the kayaking outifitter and their "other" trip.... so I went online, to see if I could see what I had missed. The opening page blew me away -- "Win This Job!" Including salary and housing, the would-be employer asks applicants to fill out an application and write a 300 word essay. Believe it or not, I didn't do that immediately. I thought about it non-stop for two days, then I went back to the computer and filled out the application. It took me awhile to write the 300 words, but I thought I did a pretty good job. A few days later, I went back and read the small print. I found out the job wouldn't start for another year, and that the future employer would be checking over applications each month, culling applicants. That gave me an idea: I am going to apply every month!
Of course, that first essay covered my background and a plea to "Pick me, pick me!" (I'd run out of words, well before the 300.) My second essay started out "Chapter Two" and I filled this one all the way to 297 words. Shortly after that submission, I received a phone call from a reporter from the Miami Herald for a piece to go into the Sunday Edition. The article did indeed appear, and I was only one of two persons interviewed. At that time, there were only about one hundred other applicants, but I am sure that number grew significantly once the article appeared. I am thinking about my angle for this month.....
What else? Working on about 4 different committees at the zoo: my usual Summer Guides (I love it because I can be invisible or not, but seeing all my animals.); Birds of Prey (crowd control, information); Animal Enrichment (paper mache' Easter eggs, grapevine balls, treatsicles); Zoo Ball (behind the scenes stuff)....photographs of everything...... Photo club once a month, and a spot on the Pow Wow committee. I'm finally starting to think.... a bit much, eh?
In my Spare Time: Reading:- The DaVinci Code (finally went paperback- what can I say?) I have eschewed my Catholic Church upbringing - believe in God and the Ten Commandments -- don't believe the heretics who are charitable only if it's high profile. So I find the whole hubbub about this book and the soon to be open movie hilarious! When people backpeddle so hard, I just have to laugh! I won't argue with them, I just laugh! The book makes you think, but, like the Bible, people are going to draw their own conclusions. So what? At least they're thinking!
CD books: Paper Life by Tatum O'Neil -- yegads, what a messed up family!
Music: Toby Keith - White Trash with Money -- Love his writing, lines like "I took your leaving with a little salt -- and tequila and lime" Wish I'd written that one myself. Also Jimmy Buffet's new "Hoot" good mix of styles, not just a Jimmy Buffet platter. Also, picked up an Oldie, Jimmy Buffet's Meet Me in Margaritaville. (So I'm a late bloomer of a Jimmy Buffet fan. Sue me!)
