Popularity is a double-edged sword. Last year I was a little too popular. I was elected to the local Chamber of Commerce board of directors and made corresponding secretary. I attended all the meetings and helped with event planning. And in the end I came up with an important lesson: Guard Your Small Business Management Time.
You see, my business was suffering. I was working more for the community than I was for LJ Martin Web. That's the name of my licensed home business, and there's only one worker bee there - and that's me! When I'm not home working on my business, nobody is! Eek... so while I was kindly helping others I was undermining my own income.
That had to end. I quit my board membership and secretarial position. It shocked everyone... but it had to be done. I went my own way, got back into my regularly scheduled business time, and patched my income back together. Really, that year was a huge setback as I lost a lot of income because my mind was elsewhere.
You know how some businesses are owned by one person and operated by employees? Well, my business isn't that way. It is totally a one-woman show. Nobody helps, not even my best friend, though I've tried and tried to get some help from him. He just won't... so it is up to me. And only me.
So, I pushed back the plate. Popularity is not for me when it involves neglecting my own business interests. Time is money, as they say. To make money, you need to take the time.
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
Saturday, May 19, 2012
Journey! California... again.
I completely wiped my website, Journey California, clean... once again. This is the THIRD time.
The first site was on Geocities. Remember that?
The second was on my own domain but it was a disaster and I didn't know what to do with it. It featured a static page and two blogs.
The third time it was built on Drupal. That's the one I deleted tonight, but I saved all the articles. Well, I have articles saved from way back when it was on Geocities!
This afternoon and evening I worked hard to repair the damage. I installed a WordPress blog and posted two of my old articles.
Dunsmuir – Train Town! was from the old, old site... I've added two much newer videos and some update notes.
The other re-posted article, Happy in Happy Camp is an article I wrote in 2011 for a Southern California newspaper.
It will take a while before I can restore the rest of the site...
The first site was on Geocities. Remember that?
The second was on my own domain but it was a disaster and I didn't know what to do with it. It featured a static page and two blogs.
The third time it was built on Drupal. That's the one I deleted tonight, but I saved all the articles. Well, I have articles saved from way back when it was on Geocities!
This afternoon and evening I worked hard to repair the damage. I installed a WordPress blog and posted two of my old articles.
Dunsmuir – Train Town! was from the old, old site... I've added two much newer videos and some update notes.
The other re-posted article, Happy in Happy Camp is an article I wrote in 2011 for a Southern California newspaper.
It will take a while before I can restore the rest of the site...
Tuesday, March 27, 2012
Writing Memoir, or Autobiography Contemplation
For several years I've been entranced by the idea of writing a great memoir, or autobiography. This is an up and coming popular genre and I've given it a few good starts. One year I decided to write autobiography for NaNoWriMo and came out with 50K of mush. I called it The Green Tea Chronicles but I may pull the name and give it to something else. Undecided at this time.
Later I studied a great memoir writing book, Your Life As Story, and discovered that memoirs are better if focused on only a small section of the journey of life. So I thought deeply on that and came up with the idea of writing about my time in an organized religion... which my daughter still belongs to. She didn't think this was a good idea. I'm not so sure. So the jury is still out on whether that story will ever be written.
I have a lot of stories wrapped up inside of me... but for now I'm publishing fiction. My novel, River Girl, will be published soon.
Perhaps I should continue with the autobiographical writing, and memoirs, and then never publish them. The remnants could allow someone else to write my biography someday. I have to admire people who write great biographies. It must be much more difficult to do research and write about other people's lives, not your own. In comparison, all one has to do for autobiography is open a vein and let the blood flow. It puddles up on the paper and a story is revealed.
The most important thing, of course, is to just keep writing. Talking about it doesn't help a bit. Only printed words count.
Later I studied a great memoir writing book, Your Life As Story, and discovered that memoirs are better if focused on only a small section of the journey of life. So I thought deeply on that and came up with the idea of writing about my time in an organized religion... which my daughter still belongs to. She didn't think this was a good idea. I'm not so sure. So the jury is still out on whether that story will ever be written.
I have a lot of stories wrapped up inside of me... but for now I'm publishing fiction. My novel, River Girl, will be published soon.
Perhaps I should continue with the autobiographical writing, and memoirs, and then never publish them. The remnants could allow someone else to write my biography someday. I have to admire people who write great biographies. It must be much more difficult to do research and write about other people's lives, not your own. In comparison, all one has to do for autobiography is open a vein and let the blood flow. It puddles up on the paper and a story is revealed.
The most important thing, of course, is to just keep writing. Talking about it doesn't help a bit. Only printed words count.
Monday, December 12, 2011
Winter Chill
I really feel I have not much to complain about - but this winter chill is so hard to get rid of! I live in a somewhat mild climate - far-northern California woods, a low sort of mountain range, actually the Southern Cascades, but also called the Klamath Siskiyou Mountains. There really isn't much snow here and when we get a few inches it melts. So who am I to complain about winter chill?
I live in an insulated cabin. I spend most of my time in a corner of my bedroom typing my heart out on this computer... for cash. Got to do it... this is my only income. Well, my dearheart spends most of his time on the opposite end of the cabin next to the woodstove. Thankfully he creates the fire each morning and takes care of all the firewood issues. That warms up the cabin and a bit of it eventually makes its way back to me.
Meanwhile - Brrrrrr! My little space heater (one of the tiny ones) really doesn't keep me quite as warm as I'd like. Solution: bundle up. I'm about to go put on my sweater so I can quit complaining about the winter chill.
I live in an insulated cabin. I spend most of my time in a corner of my bedroom typing my heart out on this computer... for cash. Got to do it... this is my only income. Well, my dearheart spends most of his time on the opposite end of the cabin next to the woodstove. Thankfully he creates the fire each morning and takes care of all the firewood issues. That warms up the cabin and a bit of it eventually makes its way back to me.
Meanwhile - Brrrrrr! My little space heater (one of the tiny ones) really doesn't keep me quite as warm as I'd like. Solution: bundle up. I'm about to go put on my sweater so I can quit complaining about the winter chill.
Wednesday, December 07, 2011
Writers Club, Local Style
I love my local writers club. We meet weekly to write together. Mainly, that's the purpose, but what we do more of is shoot the breeze. Talk. Talk. Talk. But that's okay because we're all friends and love talking to one another.
It is a small town so we are lucky to have six people who show up fairly regularly. One member missed this last meeting. We found out later it was because she was given custody of a nine-month old baby. I don't know how that will affect her participation in the future.
The rest of us got on the topic of politics. That's something we should probably avoid. We also got onto the topic of religion. Through it all we are all still friends.
Tanya brought her yarn. I brought my writers notebook. Judy brought her happy smiles, Dennis brought his cane, and Bob brought opinions, as always.
No matter what else is going on in town, I can depend on my writer friends to want to meet to write. We have a collection of topics and choose one weekly to write about. Fun... writing together is usually more productive for me than just trying to sit at my kitchen table and write.
It is a small town so we are lucky to have six people who show up fairly regularly. One member missed this last meeting. We found out later it was because she was given custody of a nine-month old baby. I don't know how that will affect her participation in the future.
The rest of us got on the topic of politics. That's something we should probably avoid. We also got onto the topic of religion. Through it all we are all still friends.
Tanya brought her yarn. I brought my writers notebook. Judy brought her happy smiles, Dennis brought his cane, and Bob brought opinions, as always.
No matter what else is going on in town, I can depend on my writer friends to want to meet to write. We have a collection of topics and choose one weekly to write about. Fun... writing together is usually more productive for me than just trying to sit at my kitchen table and write.
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Cats are So Cool . . .
We've got a house full of cats right now. Totally unintentional. We've got seven. Two are outdoor cats. Four are kittens - born of one of the outdoor cats.
I'm not a cat-lady, not really. All these cats were strays, or babies of a stray. It happened like this...
1. Mischief. We found him and two siblings as kittens several years back, dumped at the end of our driveway. We gave away one sibling. The other pure-black brother passed away earlier this year. Mischief is the survivor, and will stay with us. He's a black cat, and I'm a black cat lover...
2. Squeak. I didn't name her. My partner (Bob) did. I would have given her a much prettier, more feminine name. She's in love with Mischief. She came to us last year - finding shelter under our house. Soon it was clear she was pregnant. The kittens weren't Mischief's - he's been neutered. We'll be keeping Squeak because (1) she's not a very pretty cat and might not be readily adopted, and (2) she loves Mischief and they look absolutely adorable together. She's smaller than him, with orange splotches all over her black fur.
3. Red (or is it Strawberry?) ... the biggest and friendliest of Squeak's four kittens. Orange tabby, long fur, and absolutely precious. The kittens are all going to go to a no-kill humane society shelter as soon as there's room. We've been on a waiting list for at least six weeks now.
4. Shasta... another very friendly kitten. Amazing markings. This cat is ivory colored with tan tabby markings and dark points on ears and tail. Named for Mt. Shasta... which is where the no-kill humane society cat shelter is.
5. Caspar - kitten number 3. Friendly. Runt of the litter. Almost pure white with blue eyes - but when you look closely you see a bit of the ivory/tan tabby markings on his tail.
6. Darth (or maybe Dartha) ... very furry. Red and Darth got long fur whereas Shasta and Caspar have short fur. Darth is a bit of a problem. He's gorgeous - mostly black fur with a lot of silvery grey. But the big problem is that this is a scardy cat. Whereas the others are friendly and personable, this one will run at the sight of a human being. I try to catch him and caress and sing to him. He seems to like that - but for the most part is still too timid. We still plan to take him to the shelter because we simply can't keep all these cats, but I worry about him finding a forever home with a frightened attitude like that.
7. K3 - named after the mountain, K2. Well, K3 (who I call Kitty K) is a gorgeous male Himalayan cat. He came to us about five months ago, starving and injured. We thought he might lose his eye, or die. Several times he was frightened out of our yard for a week or two each time, by something. We don't know what, but we live in the forest so it could have been a wild animal. Anyhow, Kitty K is now fat, healthy, and gorgeous in every way. We intend to take him to the no-kill animal shelter when we take the kittens. We believe he will be easily adoptable.
After the shelter allows us to bring in the five cats (four of them still kittens) we'll have only two left - Mischief and the mother of the kittens - Squeak. We'll be getting her spayed. No more kittens!
I'm not a cat-lady, not really. All these cats were strays, or babies of a stray. It happened like this...
1. Mischief. We found him and two siblings as kittens several years back, dumped at the end of our driveway. We gave away one sibling. The other pure-black brother passed away earlier this year. Mischief is the survivor, and will stay with us. He's a black cat, and I'm a black cat lover...
2. Squeak. I didn't name her. My partner (Bob) did. I would have given her a much prettier, more feminine name. She's in love with Mischief. She came to us last year - finding shelter under our house. Soon it was clear she was pregnant. The kittens weren't Mischief's - he's been neutered. We'll be keeping Squeak because (1) she's not a very pretty cat and might not be readily adopted, and (2) she loves Mischief and they look absolutely adorable together. She's smaller than him, with orange splotches all over her black fur.
3. Red (or is it Strawberry?) ... the biggest and friendliest of Squeak's four kittens. Orange tabby, long fur, and absolutely precious. The kittens are all going to go to a no-kill humane society shelter as soon as there's room. We've been on a waiting list for at least six weeks now.
4. Shasta... another very friendly kitten. Amazing markings. This cat is ivory colored with tan tabby markings and dark points on ears and tail. Named for Mt. Shasta... which is where the no-kill humane society cat shelter is.
5. Caspar - kitten number 3. Friendly. Runt of the litter. Almost pure white with blue eyes - but when you look closely you see a bit of the ivory/tan tabby markings on his tail.
6. Darth (or maybe Dartha) ... very furry. Red and Darth got long fur whereas Shasta and Caspar have short fur. Darth is a bit of a problem. He's gorgeous - mostly black fur with a lot of silvery grey. But the big problem is that this is a scardy cat. Whereas the others are friendly and personable, this one will run at the sight of a human being. I try to catch him and caress and sing to him. He seems to like that - but for the most part is still too timid. We still plan to take him to the shelter because we simply can't keep all these cats, but I worry about him finding a forever home with a frightened attitude like that.
7. K3 - named after the mountain, K2. Well, K3 (who I call Kitty K) is a gorgeous male Himalayan cat. He came to us about five months ago, starving and injured. We thought he might lose his eye, or die. Several times he was frightened out of our yard for a week or two each time, by something. We don't know what, but we live in the forest so it could have been a wild animal. Anyhow, Kitty K is now fat, healthy, and gorgeous in every way. We intend to take him to the no-kill animal shelter when we take the kittens. We believe he will be easily adoptable.
After the shelter allows us to bring in the five cats (four of them still kittens) we'll have only two left - Mischief and the mother of the kittens - Squeak. We'll be getting her spayed. No more kittens!
Friday, November 18, 2011
My friends talk a lot
Maybe the reason I think my friends talk a lot is because I talk a lot with them. However - they're so talkative they took it far beyond that by getting into a talk radio program deal called IF Radio - and of course we want to know - why "IF"? As it turns out they've got a reason for that - the "IF" is short for Intradimensional Facets. You can see why they settled on "IF Radio"!!!
Perhaps the show is about "what if" scenarios because they do choose extreme type issues to feature, in the genre of the paranormal, mostly. The guys, who I'll call Dennis and Bob, though they have nicknames for the show (JavaBob and Professor Pious), are long-time neighbors and friends in our small town, and I've considered them friends for many years. We meet regularly at our local writer's club.
Though I love talking to them at our weekly meetings, I'll confess I have yet to call into the talk radio show - which airs on Thursdays at 6:30 on BlogTalkRadio. My main reason for not doing so is that I forget that the show is scheduled. I have no way to remind myself and they don't phone me before the shows, so I'm usually one who listens to the shows after the fact. Fortunately there's a good archiving feature for BlogTalkRadio.
Perhaps the show is about "what if" scenarios because they do choose extreme type issues to feature, in the genre of the paranormal, mostly. The guys, who I'll call Dennis and Bob, though they have nicknames for the show (JavaBob and Professor Pious), are long-time neighbors and friends in our small town, and I've considered them friends for many years. We meet regularly at our local writer's club.
Though I love talking to them at our weekly meetings, I'll confess I have yet to call into the talk radio show - which airs on Thursdays at 6:30 on BlogTalkRadio. My main reason for not doing so is that I forget that the show is scheduled. I have no way to remind myself and they don't phone me before the shows, so I'm usually one who listens to the shows after the fact. Fortunately there's a good archiving feature for BlogTalkRadio.
Monday, October 03, 2011
Lemonade Diet and Going Vegan
My chances for getting health insurance are slim, so I'm taking chargeof my own health by doing the master cleanse lemonade diet. I'm currently on day ten of a fast thatwill last until my tongue turns pink, 30 days, or I cave - whatevercomes first.
I'm not at all hungry today. Lemonade is a terrific appetite suppressant and I'm feeling just fine energetically and mentally. They say by day ten I should be having mental clarity, and I'm kind of still waiting for improvement because I've been feeling more focused and clear in my thinking all along.
The cleanse removes toxins from the system, and pushes the re-set button on life so that we can make drastic life changes. For me, the big change will be going from vegetarianism to veganism . . . plus gluten free.
Recently I read an illuminating book about wheat - call "Wheat Belly" by Dr. William Davis. What an eye-opener. He's helped hundreds of his patients morph into gluten-less diets and they've lost weight and had other impressive health benefits. I have to try it!
Going vegan has been a long-time goal of mine. Every time I got close I'd fall back into the egg and cheese eating vegetarian diet, and I'm determined at this time to give those up. Well, I already gave them up to do the master cleanse lemonade diet. After ten days I'm sure all food addictions have been broken. Now I just need to be strong and truly change my eating habits and learn a new way of cooking - all vegan! I'll be incorporating a lot of raw foods along the way.
I'm not at all hungry today. Lemonade is a terrific appetite suppressant and I'm feeling just fine energetically and mentally. They say by day ten I should be having mental clarity, and I'm kind of still waiting for improvement because I've been feeling more focused and clear in my thinking all along.
The cleanse removes toxins from the system, and pushes the re-set button on life so that we can make drastic life changes. For me, the big change will be going from vegetarianism to veganism . . . plus gluten free.
Recently I read an illuminating book about wheat - call "Wheat Belly" by Dr. William Davis. What an eye-opener. He's helped hundreds of his patients morph into gluten-less diets and they've lost weight and had other impressive health benefits. I have to try it!
Going vegan has been a long-time goal of mine. Every time I got close I'd fall back into the egg and cheese eating vegetarian diet, and I'm determined at this time to give those up. Well, I already gave them up to do the master cleanse lemonade diet. After ten days I'm sure all food addictions have been broken. Now I just need to be strong and truly change my eating habits and learn a new way of cooking - all vegan! I'll be incorporating a lot of raw foods along the way.
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