Q & A

Y'all remember that post of the first 10 of 30 questions I didn't think I had posted before? Well, turns out I had. And not only that, I did a post to update the ten and now responses!

Go here and here if you choose to compare / contrast.   What a difference a few years and altering perspectives can make.

Seeing as I've done the entire questionnaire twice and the first third, thrice, I'm not feeling particularly compelled to continue down that track.  Geez. 

So, instead some updates:

1. I haven't cut my hair. Remember??    It has been a month since that post and while it isn't all that much longer it is thicker. I still can't really braid it and am not wild about the daily maintenance, I am not driven to cut it off. 

2. This is our 5th month in this new "home" and not surprisingly it doesn't feel like home at all.  Partially due to not having closed off the old place and partially due to . . . well, too new and we just haven't fully embraced the current reality.

3. My son, the actor, is in a show. It seems to be going very well.  I am looking forward to seeing him but am not wild about the "immersive" theater experience.  I may not be fit enough for all the moving around and standing. It is a 2.5 hour show. 

4. # 3 new work-out goal.

5. Speaking of working out, no...let's not.

6. I have toyed with the idea of opening myself up to meeting / dating again.

7. Then I stopped.

8. Three months in this working from home deal. Most of what I love about it is the control over my environment in-as-much-as one may control such things. Most of what I don't love is feeling out of the loop. I don't know how long one of my colleagues had become a former colleague before I noticed.

9. Then again maybe it isn't such a bad thing to be outside certain distractions.

10. In a few days I will acknowledge another birthday. I am feeling all sorts of feelings about that and then some.  I 'm not presently poised to speak more on that topic so instead I'll leave a question to ponder: Mayo or Miracle Whip?

Welcome to Wednesday: MeMe Edition

And so, my friend developed these questions and so, I'm answering: 

1. What topic is so interesting to you that you could talk about it for days? 

I'm sure I could talk about my  son and daughter for days. But, those two aside . . . pipe cleaners; home crafting golden product.  Okay, I'm kidding.  Popsicle sticks! I kid you not. 

2. Dream home: cottage at the beach, river house in the woods, lake house, penthouse in a city, farm house, castle in Europe, family home in a burb? Something else?

This one is tough and after much thought, lake house.  

3. What talent would you like to have that you don’t have already?

Piano. Hands down. playing, not building, just to be clear. 

4. If you could make one food that’s not good for you, good for you, what would you choose?

TIRAMISU 

5. The one piece of advice you would give to everyone and wish they’d follow.

Sock and a sock, shoe and a shoe. Not, sock / shoe, sock / shoe.  Oh, and kindness wins. 

6. What period of history would you want to visit as a tourist?   Edwardian.  

7. Do you have a hobby?    Slow dancing, swaying to the music.  (Arts.) 

8. If an animal could talk, which animal would you want to talk to? Buttah. I'm aching to know what kind of home he lived in before he was ours. How it was he wound up on the street, not the safest even for a cat with all four paws clawed. 

9. If you could be friends with a fictional character, who would you choose? Kay Scarpetta's niece, Lucy Farinelli. 

10. Introvert or extrovert?  All together now, i-n-t-r-o-v-e-r-t. 

Another blogger created another list of questions and I've decided to answer those as well. Next Wednesday.  Have a wonderful rest of the week. 

MoMents

Melody and I were rolling along Pleasant Avenue a week ago Saturday; the thought twisting through my head was how laborious the trip to the library was vs. the return trip home. Nice and easy gliding. Almost.

It was mid-day and sunny. People were out and about. Having moved away from the downtown area, the people were fewer and further between.

To our right, a mature woman in a color coordinated outfit hat included, acknowledged our presence with a nod, wave, and  a full on smile. Dimple included.

And I was done. I steered Melody to the curb, took several deep breaths trying (unsuccessfully) to stave off the waterworks. A motorist pulled along aside me, asked if I was okay. I nodded in the affirmative to get her to move along. Snapped from the absorption of the moment, Melody and I roll the rest of the way home.

And there have been many (perhaps, too many) moments like that over the previous couple of weeks, especially the last few days.

Today is my mom's birthday. She would have been seventy-four.

She will be very much on my mind while I maneuver the day, sharing a meal with the kids, remembering the better times.

Peace.

MoJo-less

**

Some days I feel like I can be the star of "The Misadventures of Awkward Black Girl" while on others, I feel like a totally in control "Wonder Woman." Mostly, middle-aged, mother of two (adults) with two cats and a dog, working for a living.

I wrote the above passage some months ago as part of an introduction for entry into another meet-up group. I got in the group but have not participated in any meet-ups. There haven't been many and the few, so far, have been during the workweek, lunch-time, networking meetings. Which I would do if not for the pesky "day" job. 

Which may not be an issue in a couple of weeks. Before I could tender my resignation, I was let go. Officially, laid off, downsized. Wednesday was to have been my last day. Except NOW the owner / boss terminated the person who was going to assume many of my duties. I've been asked to and am expected to "hang around" to "help out" until . . .  

However, all of exploits of the last couple of weeks aren't even the point of this post. The point of THIS post: my feelings of inadequacy, my lack of confidence, my overall sense that I have absolutely no idea how best to fashion my résumé prepare myself for interviews, position myself to compete against the twenty and thirty-somethings out there looking for work. 

I'm trying to affect a positive attitude, a high-energy approach to the research, writing, and building toward the next life. But, it is taking everything I have and then some. The "Awkward Black Girl" is hanging about my shoulders much more than "Wonder Woman" these days. 

In totally unrelated news, I've decided to go to the family picnic in spite of the tent revival meeting atmosphere alluded to in the invitation / fee request. 

**I think I missed the opportunity to officially join the challenge (yet another example of being "off" my game) but I will produce 75 sketches within 75 days. I'm behind a few so some will be double, triple up days.