Month: July 2018

Another Military Dream

There I was, back in the military, in uniform, a short-sleeved light blue shirt with my rank on dark blue epaulets, wearing my salad, sharply-creased dark blue pants, glossy black shoes. I noticed I’d been promoted in my dream.

I was at what seemed like a modern and spacious headquarters building, talking with others. I didn’t know them much. I was explaining to them that I’d received a new assignment. Due to leave in three months, I hadn’t heard from the new location yet. Anyone familiar with the Air Force PCS process understands all these. You get the notification, sign and return it, and then the process begins. A sponsor is assigned to you, you’re sent a welcome package, you receive your orders and begin your checklist, and work with personnel to schedule all the requirements for changing locations and jobs.

There wasn’t information on my new assignment, except it seemed prestigious to me, it had been by a by-name request, and it was across the country. I was pleased to receive it. The others had to return to their work for the day, but I had nothing to do, and killed time by strolling around, wondering what I was going to do with myself, chatting with others, in a good mood, telling people, “I have a new assignment, and I’m waiting for my orders.”

 

2

Monday’s Theme Music

Ah, today I find myself streaming Pat Benatar’s “Invincible” from 1985.

It’s a do or die situation – we will be invincible.
This shattered dream you cannot justify.
We’re gonna scream until we’re satisfied.
What are we running for? We’ve got the right to be angry.
What are we running for when there’s nowhere we can run to anymore?
We can’t afford to be innocent
stand up and face the enemy.
It’s a do or die situation – we will be invincible.
And with the power of conviction there is no sacrifice.
It’s a do or die situation – we will be invincible.

h/t to azlyrics.com

2

Floofalong

Floofalong (catfinition) – a cat or dog that persistently follows another’s lead, often annoying the one that they’re following.

In use: “The black cat played floofalong, imitating everything the big tom did, annoying the tom, which he demonstrated with tail swishes.”

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Deconfloofing

Deconfloofing (catfinition) – the vain attempt to remove cat or dog hair from clothes, furniture, food, and other surfaces.

In use: “She spent twenty minutes deconfloofing, first with her fingers and then with a lint roller, but when she was in the sunshine in the car, she saw with miserable resignation that cat fur still covered her black pants.”

5

Another Joan Said

I understand this feeling. Why, then, do I feel responsible for the quality of the words?

Well, because I’m the filter. The vision and story is being told, seen, and experienced as the muse guides me, but I ultimately flutter over the words, periods, commas, and all the other elements that writers must endure to get the story out.

 

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Sunday’s Theme Music

I like this song, “New Rules”, by Dua Lipa. I like the beat, the embedded humor, relationship observations, and the overall message. It’s a good streaming song when for when I’m out and about walking. (Though, in a mental pause, I think, isn’t that redundant? Can I be in walking? So trite.)

One, don’t pick up the phone
You know he’s only calling ’cause he’s drunk and alone
Two, don’t let him in
You’ll have to kick him out again
Three, don’t be his friend
You know you’re gonna wake up in his bed in the morning
And if you’re under him, you ain’t gettin’ over him

h/t Azlyrics.com

I think they’re damn fine, common sense rules. Not really new, except to her. In a touch of cosmic serendipity, the song was released one year ago today.

 

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Flooftourage

Flooftourage (catfinition) – a group, or clowder, of cats following a person.

In use: “Wherever he went – kitchen, office, bathroom, garage – the flooftourage was with him, as though his daily activities – making coffee, reading email, using the toilet, getting frozen berries from the freezer – were fresh amazements.”

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Flooftch

Flooftch (catfinition) – stretching out in repose with all limbs extended in a flat position, giving an appearance of being melted down and pooled on the ground, generally done when a cat is very relaxed, warm, or both.

In use: “With the temperature reaching over one hundred degrees for a third day, the cats all flootched and napped. It looked so comfortable that he threw himself on the bed under an air-conditioning vent and flooftched as well.”

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Sarah Said

I so agree with this quote. I expended several years finding my quiet place. Because of the classic stereotype, I thought that it was an office in my house with a desk and a typewriter. When that failed to satisfy my writing desires, I bought notebooks and pens and haunted coffee shops. The next step in my writing evolution was to walk to the writing location to clear my mind of non-writing and re-focus on my writing efforts. The last step was to take my laptop with me and forego the pens and notebooks (although I always have one of each with me). The coffee shop is noisy with business, music, and conversations, but it’s free from the interference and incursions of writing at home.

It took years, but the result is worth it. If you want to write, don’t just do what others are doing; find what works for you. 

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