Writing Prompt for May 4th: Hobbies and Activities You Enjoyed When You Were Younger

 1) Swimming

I LOVED to swim! It was my only form of exercise besides walking. I'm a Pices. I loved the feeling of being in the water, how light my body felt. I also loved swimming under the water and could hold my breath for a pretty long time. I feel bad for my sister though. When we were young, my sister had the responsibility of getting me out of the pool when it was time, and I fought her all the time. She had to drag me kicking and screaming, which caused a scene at our apartment complex. 

2) Needlework

I enjoyed cross stitch as a teenager. I never learned counted cross stitch; I did the ones with the x's. Most the pieces I did, I gave away as gifts. My eyes won't let me do cross stitch anymore.

3) Dolls

I loved playing with dolls. I didn't have a huge Barbie collection, but it was big enough for me. A friend of one of my aunt's hand-made some barbie clothes for me. They were so nice, but they were also very 70's! I looked at them recently and planned to give my collection to my oldest niece for her daughter, but the dolls and clothes did not age well. 

4) Reading

I was also an avid reader (and still am).

I was (and still am) a devoted Little House on the Prairie fans. I read all the books. I have three nieces, but none of them read the books. They were all into Harry Potter. I also loved Beverly Cleary and Judy Blume books. I had the honor of meeting Judy Blume at a book signing a few years ago. 

5) Journaling

I am an avid journal writer and have been since I was eight years old. I recently brought journals from my mom's house, but I haven't counted them yet. Thirty maybe? Maybe more. 

librarianintx

Writing Prompt for May 3rd: Activities That Make You Lose Track of Time

 This can also be called a flow state. 

reading a good book

watching a good show

journaling and blogging

playing phone games 

some examples: Sudoku, Cross Math, Triple Tile, Boggle, Minesweeper, Waffle, etcetera

doing word searches, cryptograms, and other puzzles 

cooking 

librarianintx

Writing Prompt for May 2nd: Times You've Felt Most Like Yourself

 I would say when I'm having a productive day at work.

It feels really good being busy at work.

Helping people

researching information

creating fact sheets and guides

Jumping in to help co-workers when needed.

Twenty-five years in...and I still love my job. 

librarianintx

Writing Prompt for May 1st: Things You'd Do If You Knew You Couldn't Fail

 The quick and easy answer: everything

But it's not realistic

And even though failing sucks...

It's often an element of success.

Success is even sweeter and more triumphant when you survive failure on the path. 

I think a better question for me would be:

What would I attempt if I knew I wouldn't get hurt doing it? 

If I could physically do it.

Like run a marathon

Or swim the English Channel. 

I've watched videos of the Boston Marathon recently. 

Seeing the joy and pride as people cross the finish line - I'd love to experience that feeling. 

librarianintx

Should one moment define your life?

Something happened yesterday -

I don't mean to vague-post, but I would rather not go into specifics. 

Someone made a comment during an online event that was...not nice. 

Happens frequently these days, unfortunately. 

Today this person sincerely apologized and took responsibility for their actions. 

So, my question is, should this one moment of thoughtlessness, frustration, bad temper, whatever was going on, define that person? 

Will the person be remembered for that one moment of poor judgement, communicated without forethought?

Two examples:

Will Smith 

One minute he's a wildly popular actor, rapper, comedian.

Then he slaps another actor onstage at the Oscars in front of millions of people, and in that instant, he becomes persona non grata.

He is banned from the Oscars. 

He loses job opportunities.

The public turns against him. 

He is almost arrested. 

Travis Kelse

One minute he's a successful, respected football player 

He's also Taylor Swift's hunky boyfriend. 

Then he shoves his coach during a heated moment in the Super Bowl, and suddenly he's not only a man capable of violence, he's also suddenly an abuser. 

Many people go online, urging Taylor to leave him before she gets physically assaulted. 

If she hasn't already been. 

From America's best boyfriend to "run away, run fast".

Is this right? 

Is it fair? 

Should who you are be defined by one moment in your life? 

In my two examples, should Will and Travis have been able to control their temper? 

Of course. 

But are we holier than thou to insist that WE would have been able to? 

We are all capable of good and bad.

Some mistakes are bigger and more public than others. 

But we are all capable of screwing up.

That is part of what makes us human. 

I think how we handle the aftermath of our mistakes should define our character more than the mistake itself. 

And as humans, we should also be capable of understanding, grace, and forgiveness.

librarianintx

 

Winning quote

 "Winning doesn't always mean being first. Winning means you're doing better than you've done before" - Bonnie Blair, professional speed skater

I like this quote. 

I would even take it a step further. 

Winning can mean taking the step to do anything, especially if it's something you haven't done before. 

Winning can mean having the courage to try. 

Making the attempt. 

Seeing something through to its conclusion.

Maybe you didn't win the writing or art contest.

But you signed up for it, you created something, and you submitted that creation.

You didn't win the race. 

But you finished it. 

And maybe you beat your own record. 

That's a win for you.  

Your team didn't win the game.

But you all played hard, you worked together as a team, and you didn't give up.

Winning is a tremendous feeling.

But trying and finishing should feel awesome too. 

librarianintx

Paratransit Survival Kit

It only took me how many years of riding paratransit to think of this?

Too many.

I mean, I always have my phone with me, which has books, music, and games on it.

And sometimes I bring my journal. 

Or a print book.

But today was the first time I brought what I'm calling the "Metro Access Activity Bag."

In a small, easy to carry bag, I put my journal, two pens, earbuds, phone, a word search book, and a box of colored pencils, because the word search book includes pictures to color.

My rides have been so long lately that i want a variety of activities with me to help me pass the time. If I'm too tired to read, or my phone is low on charge, i can journal, color, or do a word search. 

Being engaged is much better than staring at the traffic and the construction, wondering how long the ride will be.

Coloring and writing are a challenge sometimes because the bus can be bumpy. But there's always traffic, red lights, and loading and unloading passengers when the bus isnt moving.

Always trying to look on the bright side.

librarianintx 

The Oscars

I watched a few of the Oscar-nominated movies for this awards season.

But that isn't what I want to talk about. 

I want to vent about the acceptance speeches.

It's a 3 hour show, people.

If there's an important political or societal comment that you want to make - fine.

I'm not opposed to that.

But do it as briefly as possible. 

Be respectful of everyone's time - the viewers, as well as the winners in other categories.

Winners in some of the minor categories were "played off", but Adrian Brody was allowed to keep speaking, taking way more than his alloted time. I understand that winning an Oscar gives you a platform where you can speak out about issues that are important to you.

But other awards were handed out after his category. And the show was already running thirty minutes over.

In fact, Hulu's feed ended before the show was over, so viewers didn't get to see the presentation of the final two awards. 

The person who wins for sound editing or special effects should receive the same time and respect as the people who win the acting awards.

And if you want to speak on a particular topic, realize you might not have time to thank your agent, your parents-in-law, your college roommate, and your fifth grade teacher.

librarianintx

Living a Healthier Lifestyle

It can feel overwhelming sometimes. 

All of the advice and guidelines

Eat the rainbow

Drink 8 glasses of water per day

Get 150 minutes of exercise per week 

Sleep 8 hours

What if you can't achieve all of that?

You might feel defeated. 

Like, why even try

You might procrastinate

Feelings of failure could lead you to make bad choices

I know I can't drink 8 glasses of water per day.

I think my diet is good, but could be improved.

What helps me is to focus on doing the best that I can.

And taking at least small steps to improvement. 

Doing at least ONE extra thing a day can give you a sense of accomplishment. 

And tiny steps are a way that you can build habits.

So I have a goal now.

Do at least one extra thing per day.

Something for my physical health

Something for my mental health 

I started yesterday.

The extra thing was strength training.

Probably spent less than a minute doing it 

But it was something 

And I was proud of myself.

Today I did ten leg lifts on each leg when I was doing my bed exercises.

Took me how long?

Thirty seconds maybe?

But I could feel the stretch.

I am one day into possibly making that part of my routine

Making it a habit

But if not

At least I did it today

Every little bit helps.

librarianintx