write for fun

Thanks to 43 Things. Blogging on this site has made writing so much more fun and easy for me. Now I feel freer to express myself than I have in a long time. A great combination of a journal and community dialog. Next challenge – fiction.

I was inspired by seeing the goal “post really really really short stories” on 43 Things. I have been playing with the idea of wanting to write fiction for some time, but until I saw this it seemed too daunting. I love listening to PRI selected shorts podcast http://www.symphonyspace.org/shorts and am going to take their writing contest as my first challenge:

Submit a single short story that addresses the question or the general theme, Are We There Yet? You may interpret this question however you please.

What a perfect theme for me right now! I keep waking up in the middle of the night thinking – are we there yet? And then of all the things I need to get there. And then, where is there and how will we know?

I am staying up till midnight to see when my next set of cheers kick in…

I have kind of been in a funk all day, though I have hidden it well. I am a very “intimate” family bed and breakfast in Wyoming. Just someones house with some extra rooms. Very cheesy and a little awkward, but interesting and not as bad as I expected when I came through the door. But thank god they have wireless. I hope the pancakes prove worth all the semi-social interaction. My phone died while I was saying good night to Christian. I miss him tonight. I am also really nervous about talking to my boss about leaving town. Need to do it soon. Maybe on the 3rd before I fly out for the week.

I wanted to write down a really great idea from my step mom about recording my experiences of traveling. I travel a lot for work and love the experience of meeting new people out of my usual context. The work we do is kind of like a roadshow at times and its really interesting to see how different people, and people in different places, respond. I am trying to think of a generic question I could come up with to have in my back pocket as a way of starting the conversation. Reminds me of the endeavor Steinbeck set out to do in travels with Charlie. Understanding Americans and Americanness is a big task. But maybe if you make it bigger, to understand humanness, it becomes a little easier. All this makes me want to get a new iPod with the ability to record. I love the spoken word as much, if not more than the written word. And working with both would be fun.

Yesterday was my birthday and some co-workers took me out to lunch. I asked them each for a memory of being 26. It was great, great stories. Found out all sorts of new things about everyone. Corenia was working in NYC as a stock trader a few blocks away from the Trade Center on 9/11. 26 is when Aalok moved from India to the US for grad school without ever visiting before. James did a lot of drugs and was and still is in a band. Monika lived in Bangladesh. Greg had all kinds of accomplishments at such a young age. Both Greg and James got their architectural license at 26, but I think it was easier back then. I’ll be happy if I can do it by 30.

I thought a lot about my parents yesterday. Next year I will be 27, which is the same age they were when they had me.

this one’s my favorite. I find this forum such and easy outlet for my thoughts. And now that I am in the practice of writing often, it has been much easier to expand my writing to emails and letter to family and friends. I wrote a short letter to my youngest brother, something I have wanted to do for a long time. And then the mere process of getting his address put us back in touch. I miss him and think he is so talented. I’m so proud of him and I really want him to know that.

A good friend of mine recently lost a friend of hers to cancer at the age of 29. She was on her way to see him and say goodbye when he passed. My heart broke for her. So instead she was able to help his mom and family plan his memorial service which ended up being an amazing turnout that surprised everyone. What really touched me was the she described him. She said that of the hundreds of people there, almost everyone she talked to felt like they were his dearest friend. For her, when she was with him she felt like she was really the person of her dreams, like “oh yeah, I really am this special and amazing.” Can you imagine making so many people feel that way! And now I, who never even knew this person, have been deeply moved.

I must remember that its so important to let people know when you are thinking of them. I think I am pretty good at being there for someone if they come to me. But I would like to be a lot better about reaching out to those I love. All the time, for fun, on a whim.

from last week. Did ok although I didn’t end up writing every day like I first hoped. I shouldn’t hold myself to such mechanized routines. Something I have always put pressure on myself to do and never succeed. Probably a good thing. My life is mechanized enough as it is.

But I will generally try and write a little something each day before I start work. It adds a creative quality to my day and makes me feel like life is full of little secret joys.

Posting to this site is the first real breakthrough in writing for fun I have had for a long time! Somehow the combined feeling of community and anonymity is just right for me.

and I realize that its just not something that I am passionate about right now so I’m going to give up on it for now.:)