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A telegram, lodged between the pages of the book, S.

It’s another blank page. It’s time to conquer it! Let’s go!!!

My motivation for today that is.

Anyway, I had a good long meeting with my bed last night after a very long day yesterday. It was a day that included the long-overdue adult physical checkup (I’m good, but need a bit more exercise) and the sometimes-dreaded work performance review.

On a much brighter note, I got more reading on S. done. The core story is a decently good one. So far, it’s featured a man with amnesia (that’s S. himself) and a ship crewed by whistling ghouls. Seriously, only one shipmate could sort-of-speak English. S. has endured being Shanghaied so far, and his adventure’s only just begun. To be clear, he knows his name, as do people he introduces himself to, but it’s obscured from the reader so that whenever he presents himself, it looks like this:

“What’s your name?”
“S—.”

It’s the only book I’ve ever picked up that is written this way.

At any rate, it’s getting a bit easier to keep the loose items that come tucked into the book from falling out, now that I’m a bit closer to the middle of the binding. Like a good video game, I’m looking forward to discovering their meaning on my next “play-through” of this book.

Also, my sweetheart shared this fun video, made by one of my favorite YouTube creators, Freddie Wong:

She truly knows how to get me hyped for a movie.

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Apologies, but I need to get something silly out of my system. It’s not that silly, but just on loop in my head.

OK, now that that’s out of my system (3 months isn’t long at all), it’s on the to the rest of the blank page. It’s putting up quite a fight today. I won’t let it win. There will be words that form thoughts. Soon.

Reading, after a certain age, diverts the mind too much from its creative pursuits. Any man who reads too much and uses his own brain too little falls into lazy habits of thinking. -Albert Einstein

This writing thing is tough on days like today. That’s because I can think of not a single original thought to put forth here and it’s annoying. I’m also fighting off a buzz of distractions that are in my head. Those thoughts, that have no substance, are the hardest to get away from because they keep playing, like an old radio station, in a tight loop.

Like right now, suddenly, I’m thinking of a different song than the one above and it’s stuck playing its hook over and over again. Maybe I can purge it if I listen.

…

Well, that was fun, but I don’t think it worked so well. The page is looking less blank, so I’ll consider this battle a draw and return for more combat tomorrow.

 

Photo Credit: Annie Spratt

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The problem: my name, when ordering food or drink always gets mispronounced or misspelled. Or both.

Some of you know my struggle. Some of you just resign yourselves to live with it. Some of you have fun with it. It’s the latter group I envy and want to join.

I know. I know. It’s a silly thing to obsess over.

That’s me, though, with the name Ryan, and I suffer along with the Bryans and Brians of the world in that it’s sometimes also misheard when I say it and when I hear their names shouted out instead of my own.

So, one solution my friends (and one close to me in particular) have resorted to is to use a different name for themselves when ordering. One that is different than their real name names. A name that will not be misspelled or mispronounced. Their “coffee” (or tea, or a smoothy, etc.) name/

This name thing is harder than one might think.

So far, I’ve not had much luck, and the most recent attempt, “Joe,” resulted in Joey on the cup, cheerfully written. If it gets to be too frustrating, then that’s why you see this post because I need your help.

What names have you had successfully being pronounced and written?

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Something silly, but slightly romantic follows.

Due to reasons, I suddenly have a memory pop into my head of a movie from more than a few years ago. I do not recall the actual movie itself, or even what the main plot was, but I remember this one simple concept from it.

Every now and again, when the main protagonist was doing something important, this couple, a man and woman, would appear in the background, and gain focus, and the only thing they’d do is say each other’s names in that whimsical voice that people falling for each other seem to develop.
I can remember only that. Not the names they said, or anything else about the movie. I do not like this because I want to know the reference because I want to watch whatever movie it is. I can’t do an internet search with such a vague concept, so that brings me to the point of this post.

My dear friends and family, do you know this movie of which I speak? Please comment on this post of you do. I’d be eternally grateful.
Signed,

A Hopeless Romantic

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past hosted party,
gave future as the present,
present is partying.

My take on this poem is a pretty cool interpretation of the meaning of time. A person exists because of events that happened in the past. The present is always present and a gift of the new past. Then, the dreams of the future exist as an ideal (a party!)

I feel like that’s on optimistic take on time’s meaning. Seems good.

Prompt: IBMC #04: Hunt a Haiku Challenge

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Sometimes I wonder about what’s next in life for me. Winter is pretty much here. You’ve got to be kidding me! A steady blade balances the soul. That’s what I’m going to do. I can’t stop the feeling. Let’s see what I think of next. That was lucky. I’m almost there. The toughest sentence is the first.

Prompt: Incredible Blogger Marathon Challenge #03

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My voice, it sounds so unnatural when I hear a recording of it. It sounds like it came from a completely different person that the one I hear when saying things out loud. I can totally sympathize with anyone that, lacking training, feels like they don’t like the sound of their own voice being played back.

I don’t feel so bad about seeing a video recording of myself, however.

What do you find more unbearable: watching a video of yourself, or listening to a recording of your voice? Why?

Can’t Stand Me | The Daily Post

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For a change, and because I just received a culinary box from Quarterly, I’ll be trying this stuff that looks like oatmeal, called It was in the latest box, along with a Minnesota mug and pancake mix. Since it’s a bit chilly this morning, I’ll prepare it hot. Protein and fiber, I definitely could use both. 🙂

Had a weird dream, which is quickly fading. In it, I was hiding, for a reason I don’t know, from some group of people, who I think were a rock band that was using my own home for a rehearsal space, and were taking a break. I did eventually speak with one of them, but it was just before I woke up, so I can’t even remember what we said.

Also, I think I get the appeal of the ugly sweater tradition, although I don’t yet have one epic enough. I do, however, have a sweatshirt that wishes it was a sweater. Close enough, right?

Do you like weekends? Had any strange dreams lately? I’d like to know.

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Somehow, I’ve become a bit of a collector of wallets made of paper. Here’s one of them.

Grey Wallet
My current choice. It’s not leather, believe it or not!

 

It’s called a Mighty Wallet, and is made by the folks over at Dynomighty.

At first, I was a bit skeptical of using folded paper as a wallet, but it both grows on one and has some practical use. In a way, it forces a more disciplined use of the wallet. I mean, everybody knows about the “old man” wallet, the one your dad (or other elder wallet user) has that is so massive that it closely resembles a small, leather-bound brick. I never liked having that feeling in any pocket. Since it’s paper and folded (not stitched), you’re less inclined to overfill it since that would push the seams apart. Since I do not carry a lot of cash or cards, this is great.

Also, dropping a bulging wallet can sometimes be quite embarrassing, especially when cards fall out.

A cool thing about the particular wallets I’ve collected is that they can also be pretty good conversation-starters (I have a Batman wallet, for example), but that’s not just due to the fact they’re made of paper, but more due to there being some pretty interesting designs available, of which I have a few.

This post is in response to  5 Days to More Engaging Content – Day #1