Category Archives: inspiration

Seven Marketing Tricks That Need To End

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1. So Rich You Look Poor

Who thought to take a pair of jeans, rip gaping holes at the knees with lots of dangling threads and sell the jeans at ridiculous prices? Celebrities, the very rich ones, like to be seen wearing jeans with raggedy holes. I remember a time when people who wore jeans with holes carried tin cups and asked us if we could spare some change. Not anymore. You need to be quite wealthy to wear jeans with ripped holes in the knees. Don’t think you can gash holes in your Kirkland jeans from Costco. You have to have a designer label and have paid well over one-hundred dollars for your holey jeans to be authentic. read more

Serious Writer Anxiety

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In 2008, or maybe 2007, the instructor at a writing workshop I attended, said, “You’re not a serious writer unless you’re on Facebook.” Serious writers, she continued, need to make themselves more visible to potential readers.

I wanted to be serious about writing, so I signed up for Facebook.

On Facebook, people I barely knew wanted to be my friend. Who are you again? Confirm. Friends forever.

My new friends posted their vacation pictures on the sands of Waikiki or hiking in the woods. Pictures of smiling kids with the ocean or beautiful forest in the background lit up the screen. Some friends posted pictures of whatever they had prepared for dinner. read more

Giving Birth to a Piano–Sideways

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The wind blew like crazy. Not Wizard-of-Oz crazy. Not evil Miss Gulch peddling a bicycle in a tornado crazy. Yet, crazy enough to put a damper on the plans my women’s writing group had for the day.
We had planned to take a short road trip to the Olive Mill, about an hour’s drive away in a town called Queen Creek. We planned to tour the mill, enjoy lunch, sample olive oil, and write in the olive orchard.
Due to the high winds, and after much back and forth texting, our group decided to meet at a local golf course. The property has a restaurant with quiet ambience where we could talk about writing, and perhaps even spend some time writing.
We have five in our group, but one had to work that day. That left four of us seated at the restaurant with windblown hair (well, mine anyway) and happy smiles. After ordering, we talked about what we wrote or didn’t write; how to find time for writing; elements of good writing, and classes we might attend on writing. Over salads we continued to discuss these topics. To digress for a moment, I would meet with these women even if we didn’t share a love and interest in writing. I’d meet with them if we shared a love and passion for dental hygiene or colored yarn. “Ooooh! Sparkly magenta glitter yarn! My fave. Now, everyone floss!” You understand, I’m only trying to make the point: we have an interesting and fun group. read more

The Benefits of Sickness

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During Victoria, my favorite Sunday evening TV show, my muscles twisted into knots. My stomach rumbled with a dull pain, as if a storm brewed. Suddenly I lost interest in the show’s storyline.
Let me explain. I love watching Victoria, a PBS series based on the life of Queen Victoria. I make a big deal when this show comes on. I fix myself a cup of tea, cuddle up with my blanket, and turn the lights out to make it feel like I’m at a movie theater. Of course, it’s not exactly like a movie theater. I don’t have people whispering loudly behind me. No one sits in front of me flashing their cell phone screen as they read their text messages.
In my home movie theater environment, I’m savoring my tea when the stomach churns and the muscles ache. Suddenly I don’t care if the villagers riot at Victoria’s gate. Large objects sail through Queen Victoria’s fancy, castle window. Yet, I don’t care. And on top of this, I don’t care that Prince Albert is adorably cute. Something is very wrong. I’m usually so in to the program.
As the night continues on, the symptoms of stomach flu hit hard. In the stomach world, I’m having Hurricane Katrina. For the next two days I stay in bed except for the grueling treks to the bathroom. Jerry hears a blow-by-blow detailed account of my misery. That could be the reason he offers to go to the store to get flu meds, hoping for a reprieve from listening to my litany of ailments.
Foods I ordinarily love suddenly seem abhorrent. The thought of coffee, or salad, or anything edible gives me the desire to writhe on the floor flapping my tongue in agony. Except for… bananas. For some reason, bananas hold a special place in my heart. We have no bananas and the longing for them takes over my thought processes.
All of the things I usually love doing, like reading, walking, guzzling coffee (well, maybe I don’t actually guzzle), and slathering age-defying creams all over my face don’t interest me at all. Gravity has already barged in my door, completely uninvited. Why defy it? None of that interests me. The only thing I care about right now is…yes! Bananas…Jerry drives to the store to buy bananas. read more