Wheel of inspiration.

Today I learned that my blog was part of the inspiration for another new blog/writing project. This is exciting! I love the idea that writing can be contagious, and that more of us are putting ourselves out there. Knowing that my peers are writing inspires me to keep going, and makes me wonder--why did I quit writing, in the first place? What turned me away from a creative outlet that fueled me for so long?

I used to write all the time. Back in grade school, high school, college, I was constantly scribbling something, somewhere, in whatever style suited me. At the tender age of seven or eight, I remember penning an entire book that was about 24 pages long. I think my mom still has it. A fantastical, hand-written script, my story chronicled the life of a princess with silver-sparkle everything, and ponies galore. I'm not sure I was as worried about giving the princess a plot as I was obsessed with imagining the details of her silver-sparkle wardrobe and stable of noble steeds, but it didn't matter--I was enthralled with my tale, and eager to share it.

Of course, the princess stage didn't last long. In the musty, spooky basement of the old Norton library, I discovered collections of Charles Schultz's Peanuts comics, from which I learned rich new vocabulary and literary devices, including the concept of sarcasm. Soon, I was in junior high, and sarcasm became both a shield and a language that I and so many other awkward kids spoke fluently. Instead of crafting stories, I penned countless notes, along with a few letters, diary entries, and even a few poems. While the notes were salty little jabs intended to crack up my friends, the poems were usually awkward little things pathetically crafted for one specific boy or another. I shoved at least one of these tender expressions of pre-teen longing into a boy's locker; I'm sure the kid didn't adequately appreciate the earnestly-penned words of an awkward, flat-chested, glasses-wearing geek-ette.

As I moved on to high school and college, I kept writing the letters, diary entries, and poems. I especially depended upon letters. I wish I had kept more of those I received; they would be so fun to read now. I remember with particular fondness the absurd origami-esque mailings that would appear from my friend Jarrod. I have no idea how these creations made it through the US Postal Service's system, since he would use whatever material caught his fancy, cover it with writing and illustrations, fold it up, stick a stamp on it, and throw it in the mail without a bit of regard for postal standards or regulations. His letters were wicked diatribes; I responded with my own devilish musings. Together, we were incorrigible, and it was great fun.

I did keep some of the letters that I wrote to myself. A few of them still give me a jolt when I read them now.  I obviously journaled as a form of free therapy; my late teen and early college years were rough, and I was much lonelier than I ever realized at the time.The demons I wrestled weren't the right kind of company to keep, I guess, but maybe by writing, I kept them in check, at least a little bit.

(to be continued)

I heart irony.

Yes, I looooove irony. I also have a great affinity for karma, poetic justice, the getting of just deserts--any fictional or, oh please, real life twist of fate that ends with grim, yet wildly satisfying (and well-deserved) universe-driven retribution.

Three cheers, as well, for karma's little helpers. These are the fearless few who boldly push, prod, and coax karma along, speeding up the process by which the assholes of the world get what they have coming. Ironically, by helping karma along, these cosmic elves risk earning their own comeuppance, but the reward earned for assisting karma is just too tempting to resist. Haven't we all taken this risk in exchange for just one taste of vengeance, just one moment of feeling that life really can be fair?

Of course, karma is at her most beautiful in her natural, unaided state. The neglectful neighbor who lets her dog shit all over the neighborhood? Ahhh, you just saw her scraping poo off her shoe. Truly, this sight rivals Niagara Falls in inspiring a sense of wonder and well-being. The speed demon who recklessly cut you off in traffic? Oooh, you guessed it, pulled over and issued a speeding ticket. We're talking Grand-Canyon good, on the right day.

But who am I to judge my other neighbor--you know, the one who deliberately positioned that shoe-defiling pile of poo right on the neglectful neighbor's front step? How can I begrudge the guy who, unbeknown to me, called in the speed demon and helped orchestrate that fateful ticket? I'm pretty sure he's my hero.

Fun stuff.

Today, for the first time, I wrote a blog entry and immediately deleted it. It was a little too brooding and self-centered. I think I need to write about random fun stuff instead. Whee!

1. Groundhog Day. I love this movie; I love Bill Murray.

2. Accessories. Girly strings of beads, sparkly dangling earrings, brightly printed bags. Yay!

3. Wine. Oooh, yeah! But not wine hangovers. Ooooh, no!

4. Ponies. I haven't mentioned ponies on any of these blog posts yet, and that is sad. Ponies rock.

5. My kids. They are pretty damn delightful like 99.9% of the time, and they are up for a good time whenever. Little party animals, all three of them. Love it!

6. The song "All These Things I've Done" by the Killers. I should play this when my students enter the classroom tomorrow, except it might rock their socks off. Dy-no-miiiiite.

7. Messing with people's minds. Just a lil bit. Especially teenagers who fail to grasp irony/humor. Mwa-ha-ha!

8. Magna-doodles. Wicked fun. 

9. Okay, now my brain is flooded with toys and funky songs and rainbows and dancing, so I think my job here is done. Peace out.

Yep.

Just watched the movie Salt. Pretty good. Angelina's a bit gaunt these days, though. She looked much more capable of kicking ass back in her Lara Croft days.

Watched Easy A today, too. Made me laugh out loud, which was nice. If only real life teenagers were as universally literate/witty as those depicted in this flick. Enjoyed Lisa Kudrow playing a bitch. Had to pause about five times toward the end because the twins woke up early, had poopy pants, cried, whined, etc.

Ate some Taco Pronto for lunch. Not as good as I remembered. Salty. Ironically, did not eat it while watching Salt.

Christmas break is over. Had some good times. The days with nice weather rocked. Loved going to the zoo and playing outside with the kids. Enjoyed mall trip with Lauren and Jennifer. Mall pizza is still greasilicious. Made up that word. Obviously. Should have done more with just Andy and just Lauren, probably. Not so easy with the twins at this age. Nope.

Computer being weird. Me too. Will probably benefit from getting out of the house and back to work. Kind of wish this wasn't true, but it seems pretty true.