The Week after A Vacation

Thursday....

It arrived as usual and I greeted it with the same excitement that I feel when I go to the dentist. Yes, really. The bonus is that I've been pain free for days. The climate . . . or maybe the atmosphere of Texas agreed with me. I have a niggling of a headache but I think I'm just tired.

I did sit up rather late Tuesday, despite getting up at 4 a.m. to wander the backroads of the Texas plains, the highways of Dallas-Ft Worth, and the parking lots of the airport. I had a pleasant day and on Wednesday, I sort of repeated myself. It was true vacation.

From the 16th of October until the 20th I was so involved with lectures of authors, publishers, marketers, and researchers that it felt like school. I was depleted by bedtime and slept like a log, despite being in a strange bed. The actual act of relaxing started only after I reached my friend's home.

I didn't mention my drive from Austin to Ft. Worth on the 20th, did I? Maybe I shouldn't. It wasn't fun. Still, I think one must learn to look at events that occur in one's day as entertainment. Yes, I know that's ridiculous, even insane, but really, it is true. One must look back and say, "Oh wasn't that amusing?" Don't forget to chuckle. I mean, what else can you do with a nasty bathroom somewhere between Austin and Ft Worth that I wouldn't have taken a dog into but which I had no choice but to use. It reeked and the toilet looked as if something had blown up in there and they'd tried to hide the evidence by flushing only. It didn't work well. My flushing didn't either. There were very few places that I could stop and besides, how was I to know that it was really slaughterhouse and not a convenience store. It looked like a convenience store. And I really had to go.

Then, there was the heavy construction along my route that made it nearly impossible to get off the interstate. I really wanted a drink in the worst way. I'd finished the one I'd gotten in Austin and after that dreadful stop I was bone dry. Fortunately, I had a bottle of water from the hotel. Traffic moved at 25 miles per hour for about 2 hours. I don't remember what I did during that time, besides drink water. I believe I listened to some 30's Jazz somewhere in there and it was quite good before I lost the signal. In fact, I don't remember anything about the trip but piles of very odd white rock along each side of the road. Not something I would expect but I'm not very familiar with Texas geology at this point.

Once I reached my friend's I was the one about to explode.. It is very embarrassing when the first thing out of your mouth is "May I use your potty?" Really. But when ya gotta go, ya gotta go. I don't think I actually said that but something close. One thing I've noticed as I've gotten older is that self control is not what it once was and you can push the limits only so far before ugly things start to happen.

Oh, let me just say if you need a job I suspect the highway department of the great state of Texas would be a good place to start. I've never seen the like of road construction anywhere in all my life. They were building roads from Austin to Dallas-Ft Worth and on the west of Ft Worth, they were building roads to somewhere else. So, pick up that phone.

Friday was swift and uneventful. Thank God for those days.

Saturday was hectic as I had to get motivated to get out of my warm jammies and get some running done. Sarah is with me this weekend and she and I headed to Walmart to get her a gift for an amazing report card. She above her grade level and we were so happy about that.

At 2 pm I was at Washington Square Mall for the National Novel Writing Month Kickoff. A kickoff is just an informal get together to connect with other participants before the madness of NaNo. It went well and it was nice to reconnect with my co-participants. There were a couple of folks who decided this is the year they stop lurking.

And now... chocolate ice cream.

A Summary of a Quest

10:00 a.m. Thursday, October 17, 2013

I'm sitting at the airport in the “free Wi-Fi” section which doesn't let me log on to post this directly. So, it will be a running commentary of my trip... boring. 

I was going to go to the gate but the guard nicely checked his watch and said, “Just to let you know, you're a bit early and there's nothing back there but vending machines and seats. If you want you have plenty of time to wait out here where there's a place to get coffee and relax.” Wasn't that nice? So, I got a diet Coke and an almond Snickers bar and am sitting here listing to Good Morning America and typing up this post. 

I had a restless night. Dreamed a lot of dreams that kept waking me up but at least I got a lot of sleep and I feel a lot less pain today, even though it rained during the night. In fact, I woke up to the sound of rain. I forgot and left the heat on and sometime around 5 a.m. I got up to turn it off. Once I cooled off I slept better. 

The skies are heavy with clouds but I thought for a moment that there was a break and the sun peeked through. I could be wrong. I was antsy getting everything packed because you know you're going to forget something. You don't want to forget something important when you're several states away from home. I packed all my meds in my bag and hope to goodness they don't open it. Of course I put a lock on it... which, it they cut it, I'll know they opened it. 

I hate flying in overcast weather and I think it is even rainy in Dallas and Austin. One can hope it clears by the time I get there. I am to sit around in Dallas Airport for three hours! I may try and write a bit there. I don't know if I'll bother with internet if it as much trouble as it was here. No one seems to know how to use the free wi-fi. Typical.

This is a small airport and I know the plane will be small too. Ugh. On top of turbulence there will be shoulder to shoulder people. As it is approaching the time TSA told me to come back to the gate, I'm going to save this now. My neck is beginning to ache. Obviously, using the computer on certain surfaces is a problem. I've noticed this all week as I dealt with the pain and resulting headache. 

October 19, 2013

The rest of my trip was so hectic I didn't even post. Fortunately, there were no flight delays or screw-ups. Once I landed in Dallas, I took the Skyline to my next departure gate but got off one stop too soon. When I ask directions, the “not information guy” said, “It won't take you more than 10 minutes to reach the gate or you can catch the Skyline.” Since I'd have to wait for the train, I opted to walk... with my heavy laptop and carry on. I'm going to have another rolling bag that will fit under the seat next time or a new, lighter laptop for travel. 

I walked a bit until I reached Chili's Restaurant where I promptly ordered lunch and waited until it was closer to departure time. I was running out of steam. Lunch at Chili's is delicious but stupidly expensive. Lots of food, too much, in fact, for one person. 

I walked down to the gate after that and watched people until time to board, maybe 30 minutes. This airport actually has comfortable chairs at the gates. If the back had been just a bit higher I'd have been able to really relax and take the pressure off my neck.

The flight to Austin was fast. It took longer to board the plane and take off than it did to get there. The flight attendant was a 16 yr veteran and very nice. She informed me that airlines are hiring for flight attendants, at least American Airlines is, because a lot of them are retiring. So, if you're interested...

October 23, 2013

I came home on Tuesday. I was up at 4:30 and drove to Dallas-Ft Worth Airport, not a fun trip. I got lost in the woods in the dark, turned around on the highway, off at the wrong places three times, and went in circles at the airport trying to find the rental car return site. It was dark and I was still tired. I barely got to check in an hour ahead of my flight. Not an experience I want to repeat. 

I had every intention of blogging everyday but honestly, it would have been impossible. I was in sessions from 9 in the morning until 9 at night. There was so much information that I was truly overloaded. I took a lot of notes that I'm going to compile and share with my writing group. It was an amazing experience and I gained a lot of insight from it. I don't know how that will help me but there are some adjustments I have to make, I think, to point me in the right direction. 

I came away from this conference with more than just information on writing. I was blessed to see a +100 writers who want to do the same thing I do and some of them are doing it. I was blessed by people who shared their story with me and encouraged me. There was this room packed with Christian authors and publishers and agents sharing their experiences and expertise. It was mind boggling but I have to say that what overwhelmed me were the stories of how these people got to where they are and the stories of their faith. The likes of George Barna, head of The Barna Group and three executives from WaterBrook Multnomah, a division of Penguin Random House Publishing all shared information and insight on publishing and marketing. 

So, all together, this was a really nice trip. I enjoyed the conference far more than even I expected. My visit with my friend, Phyllis, not just a pleasure but relaxing. It was nice to visit with her and her family. I got to make the acquaintance of several farm animals and drive Nancy's Jag. 

I have spent today also relaxing and doing absolutely nothing of merit. I've read a lot for the last two days, finished two books. I'm about to start work on organizing my notes over the conference and refreshing my memory about what I learned... before I forget completely. I'd like to share it with my writer friends, those who are interested, via a hangout but if that doesn't fly, I may just do a video blog.

Now, I'm going to bed so I can get back to work tomorrow. It is not something I look forward to but there aren't no options for me. 

Meandering Saturday

Yes, it has been a while. I am sitting in my living room with a turban on my head and telling myself I need to get up and get moving. I've had coffee and a breakfast of sorts. I had a hard time waking up this morning. I mean I simply could not get roused. I kept hitting the snooze button for about half an hour. I finally decided I needed a shower to get me going. So, I showered and washed my hair and . . . well, here I am. I still feel tired but I'm vertical... sort of.

It has been a busy few months. Work, I think I mentioned, has been a killer of all things fun. I did get a new sidewalk, thanks to help from my children. We had a lot of fun doing it. There was a vacation and holiday in there somewhere. I vaguely remember them. I need another one but I'm waiting until my finances recover from all this spending.

I've been writing a bit on a couple of things but nothing earth shaking and certainly not on my Primary Project as I am supposed to do under the terms of my WRoE challenge to myself. Nuts. Must rethink my rules, I think. If they are too hard for me to follow (they aren't really I'm just making the usual excuses) then I may need to reevaluate them.

Today my house is clean and there is no yard work that I must do, although there is some I'd like to do. I've found I like it better if someone is here doing it with me. It seems more fun. Jerry and I used to work outside together and we liked it. He got to the place he could barely cut the grass and we just gave up on the yard. He'd be thrilled at how things look now. He wanted it to look like this.

I really have been absent from here, at least posting stuff. I do come an read up and I posted things I was watching and reading. Just none of my original content that I know is thrilling. I'm sure you all were bereft by my absence.

Not.

I plan on getting the accounts in order this morning but I think I want the afternoon to myself. I need some decompression time I think.

This is rather short and pointless, I'm afraid. I don't know what is wrong with me. I have no profound wisdom or rant to share. I've made blogging a daily habit for years now and suddenly, I am without anything to say.

Surely I can't have said it all!