How much free time do you have? Go on, think about it a moment. Think of how much time you spent on non essentials. And yes, sleep is an essential. Time is such an important thing because really, it's the only thing we have. All we are in this grand world are ticks on a clock. Eventually you'll have your last tock, not being cruel but it's true. So here's the million dollar question, when that last moment comes, add all the others up...How much were spent on you?
The average person sleeps eight hours and works eight hours, this leaves another eight hours free to do with as they please. But that's not true, is it? You see because in those last eight hours, your personal eight hours, you also have to eat. You need to wash, get dressed, you need to drive to and from wherever you're going. In those eight ours, those very personal eight hours, you need to pay bills and get that extra work done for your job. You have to go to college in those eight hours, have to get your car fixed in those eight hours, you have to wait for the cable guy for those eight hours.
It's not a lot of time when you factor all that into it, is it? So we have the weekend, two days out of seven that we're free from work, we tack on an additional sixteen hours to our personal time. Time for our movies, our television, our games, books, friends, dates, road trips... So much to do so little time. We have so much we want to accomplish that in the end most of us do nothing. We sit around and we watch that clock tick and tock all our time away. So afraid of losing it to one thing, we try nothing.
But that's no way to spend our time, like I said time is all we truly have. Worrying about how little time we have, ending up using none of it. So afraid of losing the time, and yet doing that anyway. I want everyone reading this to do something today, I want you to make time to use time. I want you to go see a movie you've wanted to see for a while, talk to a friend you've meant to talk to for a few hours, finally finish that book that's been on your end table for so long. Just get up and enjoy your time, however you can.
Tick tock.
Saturday, March 6, 2010
Friday, March 5, 2010
Prompts
The following are some prompts for writing. If it’s whited out, we’ve done it already.
Feel free to comment with more prompts no matter how old this post is.
1. Create a story inspired by the line in an ee cummings poem: "the weak noise of her eyes easily files my impatience to an edge"
2. Write about 15 minutes on the downfall of love.
3. Write a pure dialogue story. Make your story move along by using ONLY dialogue. No narration or description, only dialogue.
4. Write about an event in your life that seemed bad but turned out to be good.
5. What do you hope to accomplish within the next ten years? Explain.
6. Do you think that you have the qualifications of a good parent? Discuss.
7. If you were guaranteed a steadily improving standard of living (in terms of buying power, free time, quality of goods and services, etc.), would you be willing to give up your right to vote? Explain.
8. “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
9. “It is as difficult to start things as it is to finish things.”
10. “All art is an imitation of nature.” —Seneca, Roman philosopher, c. 4 B.C.–A.D. 65
11. The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair. -Mary Heaton Vorse
12. The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive, but do not forget.-Thomas Szasz
13. What is most beautiful in virile men is something feminine; what is most beautiful in feminine women is something masculine.- Susan Sontag
14. A joke is an epigram on the death of a feeling.-Friedrich Nietzsche
15. A pessimist is one who has been compelled to live with an optimist.- Elbert Hubbard
16. When we're young we want to change the world. When we're old we want to change the young. -Anonymous
Feel free to comment with more prompts no matter how old this post is.
1. Create a story inspired by the line in an ee cummings poem: "the weak noise of her eyes easily files my impatience to an edge"
2. Write about 15 minutes on the downfall of love.
3. Write a pure dialogue story. Make your story move along by using ONLY dialogue. No narration or description, only dialogue.
4. Write about an event in your life that seemed bad but turned out to be good.
5. What do you hope to accomplish within the next ten years? Explain.
6. Do you think that you have the qualifications of a good parent? Discuss.
7. If you were guaranteed a steadily improving standard of living (in terms of buying power, free time, quality of goods and services, etc.), would you be willing to give up your right to vote? Explain.
8. “The more things change, the more they stay the same.”
9. “It is as difficult to start things as it is to finish things.”
10. “All art is an imitation of nature.” —Seneca, Roman philosopher, c. 4 B.C.–A.D. 65
11. The art of writing is the art of applying the seat of the pants to the seat of the chair. -Mary Heaton Vorse
12. The stupid neither forgive nor forget; the naive forgive and forget; the wise forgive, but do not forget.-Thomas Szasz
13. What is most beautiful in virile men is something feminine; what is most beautiful in feminine women is something masculine.- Susan Sontag
14. A joke is an epigram on the death of a feeling.-Friedrich Nietzsche
15. A pessimist is one who has been compelled to live with an optimist.- Elbert Hubbard
16. When we're young we want to change the world. When we're old we want to change the young. -Anonymous
Untitled Poem
Gentle, hypnotizing calls one cannot explain
For, on different ends of the spectrum, they sit
Idly waiting to be recognized, waiting to begin
One the whisper of a tender lover
Embracing you without qualms
Taking over your senses completely
One the almost silent plea of chances to come
Familiar to the first in ways of the heart
Entreating you to come just a bit closer
So it is, endless cycle of wooing
Of wanting and of losing
Needing and regretting
Constantly biding the time
Carried on the wind, day by day
Sorrow croons as love begs.
For, on different ends of the spectrum, they sit
Idly waiting to be recognized, waiting to begin
One the whisper of a tender lover
Embracing you without qualms
Taking over your senses completely
One the almost silent plea of chances to come
Familiar to the first in ways of the heart
Entreating you to come just a bit closer
So it is, endless cycle of wooing
Of wanting and of losing
Needing and regretting
Constantly biding the time
Carried on the wind, day by day
Sorrow croons as love begs.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Motivation
I have many times in the past stared at a blank word processor, completely unable to type a single word. I'm a writer, I'd tell myself, at least I would like to be one... So why is it sometimes I cannot put anything down? Why can I sometimes not put to paper any of the dozens of ideas that run through my head at any given time? It's that little bastard we all have to contend with called motivation.
We all have drive, we all want to do something, and we all make an effort to make that something happen. So why does it go away at the worst times? Why do you want to do something, yet still feel like not doing it, where does our motivation go? It seems odd that we just don't want to do what truly fulfills us. That the thing that makes us happy is the last thing we want to do.
Work vs. Reward.
I could write an article, a short story, an entire novel. But it takes a lot of time, effort, and you always risk failure. I have to work hard on my stories, make sure all my ideas fit together perfectly, I have to make sure my style of narration is progressive and fluid, I have to fight again what I want and what works. Then what happens, who reads that? What if they don't like it? All the payoff is so far off and without guarantee. I can easily go off and play a video game instead.
Yeah, a video game. An interactive experience where I'm rewarded for my efforts. Those rewards are swift, come right after a task is complete, and are guaranteed right from the start. Failure isn't a big deal because I haven't put any of myself into this, if I fail I just try again with another life, it's easy. I can do that with many things, movies, television, a book...
Wait a book?
Those easy things, those simple pleasures we distract ourselves with have hours of hard work in them. People who slaved over them to make them happen. People who weren't afraid of a lack of reward. People who found the motivation to sit down, and finish something. And here I am enjoying their work...
And I can tell you this right now, no game, movie, or book can give you a sensation as powerful as knowing you put an effort into something and were rewarded for it. Nothing makes me happier than knowing someone has read my work and enjoys it. That's kind of the point of this blog here, to make me write, to force me to put something down every other day. To teach me how to motivate myself, to learn to not fear failure.
Motivation is something we all have to find, and sometimes fight for. We're fighting ourselves for it, fighting against our vices. But I assure you this, if you can win that fight and put forth an effort, and it doesn't just have to be something creative, the sensation of accomplishment when you DO get that reward is so much better than anything else.
And get to it, there's no extra lives in this game.
We all have drive, we all want to do something, and we all make an effort to make that something happen. So why does it go away at the worst times? Why do you want to do something, yet still feel like not doing it, where does our motivation go? It seems odd that we just don't want to do what truly fulfills us. That the thing that makes us happy is the last thing we want to do.
Work vs. Reward.
I could write an article, a short story, an entire novel. But it takes a lot of time, effort, and you always risk failure. I have to work hard on my stories, make sure all my ideas fit together perfectly, I have to make sure my style of narration is progressive and fluid, I have to fight again what I want and what works. Then what happens, who reads that? What if they don't like it? All the payoff is so far off and without guarantee. I can easily go off and play a video game instead.
Yeah, a video game. An interactive experience where I'm rewarded for my efforts. Those rewards are swift, come right after a task is complete, and are guaranteed right from the start. Failure isn't a big deal because I haven't put any of myself into this, if I fail I just try again with another life, it's easy. I can do that with many things, movies, television, a book...
Wait a book?
Those easy things, those simple pleasures we distract ourselves with have hours of hard work in them. People who slaved over them to make them happen. People who weren't afraid of a lack of reward. People who found the motivation to sit down, and finish something. And here I am enjoying their work...
And I can tell you this right now, no game, movie, or book can give you a sensation as powerful as knowing you put an effort into something and were rewarded for it. Nothing makes me happier than knowing someone has read my work and enjoys it. That's kind of the point of this blog here, to make me write, to force me to put something down every other day. To teach me how to motivate myself, to learn to not fear failure.
Motivation is something we all have to find, and sometimes fight for. We're fighting ourselves for it, fighting against our vices. But I assure you this, if you can win that fight and put forth an effort, and it doesn't just have to be something creative, the sensation of accomplishment when you DO get that reward is so much better than anything else.
And get to it, there's no extra lives in this game.
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Manda is touchy about her family
What makes someone family? Is it the blood running through their veins or the way they make you feel when you're around them?I have great family and I'll admit, not all of them happen to share the same blood as me. But a lot of them do. I have a large and insane family.
I have grandmothers galore who are different as the seasons, a brother who just has to follow his own path, a soon to be sister-in-law who I'm learning more and more about, a father who is an unknown superhero, a mother who can seriously do anything she puts her mind on whether a piece of art or finishing that long road she's followed for years. I have best friends as different as the sun and moon, an aunt and uncle who are worlds of their own, little cousins who are like nephews to me who I get to watch grow into someone new everyday and a sister-cousin who is just as good a best friend if not better and just as insane.
My family grows each time I sit down and listen to someone's problems without judging them, each time someone sits down and lets me cry on their shoulder.
Even within the family I already have, I rediscover them day to day.
For example my sister, Christina. I've known Christina all my life but only recently did I start to know Stina. Stina- the person, the mother, the wife, the daughter, the granddaughter, the softy for animals, the horror movie buff, the uncertain, the shy, the worried, the phenomenal.
How I managed to be around her for so long without realizing how special this woman was just shows how asleep I was before.
Then there is Will, my other blogger half. He's my family. He's seen me at my highest high, my lowest low, and my complete and utter midpoint.
He knows me probably better than I know my own damn self. Sure, he has no blood relation to me and I wouldn't even have met him if it wasn't for a trick of fate and Joss Whedon's powerful pull. He's been there for me when I felt so alone. Do don't you DARE tell me he it not my family.
Family is a wonderful thing, don't limit it. let your family grow. Let your family be just as big as you can.
Because, darling, there's never enough love in this fucked up world.
-Manda
PS... Just so see if I get any replies... Here are some questions for you to comment on.
How do you define family?
How large is your family?
Who is your closest family member?
Tuesday, March 2, 2010
Beginnings
Beginnings are... a hassle. You put so much time and effort in such a small part of your life. Beginnings are fleeting, they're moments long, they go even faster than they came. But for some reason we put such great importance on the first anything. The first kiss, the first job, the first lover...
But at the beginning, you're a novice. You're new and untrained, you don't know how to kiss, you need to be trained how to flip burgers, and your first sexual experience is best left unsaid. But for some reason these awkward, untrained, and embarrassing moments are what we spend the most time worrying about, why?
It's because we're told that a first impression is everything. The first time you meet someone, they'll decide how they feel about you within the first hour, and then their mind will never change. What bologna. I can tell you, that bad first impressions, that horrible encounters with someone can be the bases of incredibly strong friendships. And yes, I can prove it...
Manda, my other half when it comes to this site, have been close friends for over a year and a half now. When we first met we talked for a while about various things...But ask either of us what we really remember about our first conversation...
The fight.
We had a heated, dare I say epic, fight over Buffy: The Vampire Slayer on whether or not it was a good show. It got to the point where Manda, fed up with the argument, and hoping that I wasn't completely and utterly hating her left the chat room. After some coaxing from others who had her Yahoo Messenger, she came back apologizing to me.
For what, having an opinion?
She was so sure I hated her, despised her, that she came in apologizing to me for liking a television show. But I can tell you something... it was that fight that made us friends... It's because of that fight that I wanted to get to know her, the reason we took our conversation out of the chat room. We spent all night and into the morning talking to each other.
She's my best friend now.
So I say to you not to put so much effort into those first few minutes... They cannot tell you everything about a person, place, or thing. Because even if you hate it at first, you might find yourself coming to love it.
I mean, if that wasn't true, nobody would like anchovies....
But at the beginning, you're a novice. You're new and untrained, you don't know how to kiss, you need to be trained how to flip burgers, and your first sexual experience is best left unsaid. But for some reason these awkward, untrained, and embarrassing moments are what we spend the most time worrying about, why?
It's because we're told that a first impression is everything. The first time you meet someone, they'll decide how they feel about you within the first hour, and then their mind will never change. What bologna. I can tell you, that bad first impressions, that horrible encounters with someone can be the bases of incredibly strong friendships. And yes, I can prove it...
Manda, my other half when it comes to this site, have been close friends for over a year and a half now. When we first met we talked for a while about various things...But ask either of us what we really remember about our first conversation...
The fight.
We had a heated, dare I say epic, fight over Buffy: The Vampire Slayer on whether or not it was a good show. It got to the point where Manda, fed up with the argument, and hoping that I wasn't completely and utterly hating her left the chat room. After some coaxing from others who had her Yahoo Messenger, she came back apologizing to me.
For what, having an opinion?
She was so sure I hated her, despised her, that she came in apologizing to me for liking a television show. But I can tell you something... it was that fight that made us friends... It's because of that fight that I wanted to get to know her, the reason we took our conversation out of the chat room. We spent all night and into the morning talking to each other.
She's my best friend now.
So I say to you not to put so much effort into those first few minutes... They cannot tell you everything about a person, place, or thing. Because even if you hate it at first, you might find yourself coming to love it.
I mean, if that wasn't true, nobody would like anchovies....
Beginnings
If a beginning
Is the end of something else
Do we ever pause?
Beginning, risking becoming something new.
With every step, closer to change, with every breath, closer to life.
Begin again. Again. Again. Never end.
Why do we mark beginnings when they are constant?
Let go into the winds of change, lose who you once were, lose yourself.
Win yourself.
There is no easy way to walk through life.
We are in a constant flux of ends, beginnings and staying the sames.
Hello anyone reading this, just you Will more than likely!
This is my first post. A bit of poetry, a bit of ramble, I figure. Give a taste of all the sides of Manda... Ew.
Anyway, beginnings are always happening. In living life, we are ever changing, always making choices. As a wise woman once said to me, even not making a choice or change is making a choice in some respect. There. I've fulfilled my quota of today's topic now on to the good stuff.
This is a new project where we write every other day. Today is super-freakin'-special because we're both gonna throw our two cents in.... for.. a total of four. We're rich like that.
You, reader person, should leave a comment either answering questions we shove in your face, asking US questions, giving us an idea for a topic or theme, saying how much we rock your socks off or how sucktastic that last prose I wrote was. Really, we just like to feel loved so comments make our bellies do some sort of odd flippy floppy.
Alright, I think that's enough of that. Tomorrow will be better I hope.
-Manda
EDIT: Apparently comments aren't working so leave comments at BeautifulOpinions@yahoo.com. Put who its to in the subject line.
Is the end of something else
Do we ever pause?
Beginning, risking becoming something new.
With every step, closer to change, with every breath, closer to life.
Begin again. Again. Again. Never end.
Why do we mark beginnings when they are constant?
Let go into the winds of change, lose who you once were, lose yourself.
Win yourself.
There is no easy way to walk through life.
We are in a constant flux of ends, beginnings and staying the sames.
Hello anyone reading this, just you Will more than likely!
This is my first post. A bit of poetry, a bit of ramble, I figure. Give a taste of all the sides of Manda... Ew.
Anyway, beginnings are always happening. In living life, we are ever changing, always making choices. As a wise woman once said to me, even not making a choice or change is making a choice in some respect. There. I've fulfilled my quota of today's topic now on to the good stuff.
This is a new project where we write every other day. Today is super-freakin'-special because we're both gonna throw our two cents in.... for.. a total of four. We're rich like that.
You, reader person, should leave a comment either answering questions we shove in your face, asking US questions, giving us an idea for a topic or theme, saying how much we rock your socks off or how sucktastic that last prose I wrote was. Really, we just like to feel loved so comments make our bellies do some sort of odd flippy floppy.
Alright, I think that's enough of that. Tomorrow will be better I hope.
-Manda
EDIT: Apparently comments aren't working so leave comments at BeautifulOpinions@yahoo.com. Put who its to in the subject line.
Introductions Post
We are two friends on a mission to write every other day to expand our writing potential while helping each other.
Manda is an idi
osyncratic nerd who likes to use big words just to piss off the people around her. She writes mostly poetry with the occasional rant thrown in. She identifies herself as a cynically romantic fool. The bossy one.
Will is an over-analytical geek. An anti-Social social-observer, he considers himself intellectual and overly-opinionated. He writes mostly opinion pieces, never pulling any punches and being honest to a fault. The sarcastic one.
Manda is an idi
osyncratic nerd who likes to use big words just to piss off the people around her. She writes mostly poetry with the occasional rant thrown in. She identifies herself as a cynically romantic fool. The bossy one.
Will is an over-analytical geek. An anti-Social social-observer, he considers himself intellectual and overly-opinionated. He writes mostly opinion pieces, never pulling any punches and being honest to a fault. The sarcastic one.
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