working

Working Hard

Just finished a zoom interview for one of my MCIR stories and it went really, really well. It’s going to be a nice addition to the story that’s taking shape. I have another interview Monday for it and want to talk to another few people for it as well but need to get in contact with them soon. I have more phone calls I’m going to make today and see what I can accomplish.

I am doing pretty good this morning. I slept well and had trouble waking up at first, but not too bad. I got going around nine, I’d say. I need to start laundry and get it going and sort through some accumulated piles of clothes. It’s going to be good though–I’ve got that slated to work on this afternoon. I’ve got two sections to draft for my fiction project and then I will revise after letting them rest a bit.

We’re having really pretty weather now after all the storms of the past two weeks. When the weather is pretty in Mississippi, it really shows out. Warm temps and sunny days. Love it!

Sent in an idea for a new blog post for May–on my experience with art therapy and how it helped me during a very difficult time. So I think that will be interesting to readers. We will see.

I go see Tillie again next Friday–we’re going to talk over my progress I made in conquering my little freak-out about starting a new writing project. So I think that will be productive. Something I can look back on and use for later situations. At least I hope so.

I guess if I’m going to make more calls before lunch I need to get going on them. Hope everyone is having a good day. Godspeed to all.

Lunch Interview

So I am seeing what I can get done before my lunch interview for the writer/editor job. I really hope this goes well and we can see what we can work out. It’s at 12:15 p.m. so I will be done with lunch beforehand and done with the interview before Bob comes in. So fitting in nicely there.

I will start on my stories after the interview. If I don’t finish today I will tomorrow. But I got some dynamite information this morning so that will be good to use.

I am feeling pretty good today. I got up on time and was able to see everyone out the door. Took my medication early so that was good as well. It may be a late night–my youngest is going to the Homecoming Dance with the boy so hopefully she will enjoy that and make some good high school memories. We will see if I can stay up until she comes home. If I don’t, Bob can. But I may just drink me a tea late at night and see if I can be up and get the story directly from her tonight.

So I need to eat lunch real quick and see if I have anything else to do before the Zoom meeting. Think ab9ut me and pray I’ll find favor if this is the job for me. Thanks. Godspeed.

The Worker Shortage is Real

I found another job to apply for on LinkedIn. I have never seen so many PR-sorts of jobs available in Jackson. Hopefully they plan to fairly compensate everyone they hire. It was an online application and they use those sons-of-guns to weed out the less persistent, I swear. Took me thirty minutes to find out the page illustrated on the instructions-to-apply-PDF did not exist, and I just had to start pressing buttons to get the screen I wanted.

Told Bob I had an interview Friday the day they sent me the email. And yesterday he said he didn’t think I could handle working full-time. He might be right. But then again, he might be wrong. And the more he tells me I can’t, the more determined I am to prove I can. I may can only work a few months. I may have to have lots of support and accommodations. But what I cannot do is sit around the house until he retires. That is what he seems unable to understand.

Getting closer to being able to ship out and help my oldest after her surgery. I leave Sunday afternoon and fly direct, thank goodness. We will see how me and the grandbaby get along. We did last time I saw him so hopefully we will this time, too. 🙂 He’s heard my voice over the phone enough he should be a little familiar with it. So hopefully that will help as well.

Well, Bob is about to head out for work and I need to pack up soon so I will be ready to leave. Sort out the last of the laundry today hopefully and go to the grocery store for the next few nights. Hope everything is going well with everyone else. Stay safe from COVID. Godspeed.

Accomplishment Monday

I am going to be busy today. I’ve already gone to the grocery store, I’m going into Jackson to buy at SAS shoes some good shoes for church in the spring, I’m going to get a pedicure, and carry my other pictures to be framed. A lot to do but no time like the present.

I’m going to try to work on the Sean Hunt story as well–talk to all the additional people who have a stake in this story even if we don’t get Joey Hood. I think I can still get good information out. We will have to see.

I feel like I FINALLY got enough sleep to carry me through the day. I don’t remember the last time that happened. But I feel perky and awake and everything. Got about a half hour before I leave so I can accomplish a few things around the house too. Not sure what beyond this blog but a few things.

I love days when I feel like this. I don’t have to sleep the day away, I can get things done in a reasonable amount of time, I don’t waste time, I’m just functional and capable. Pray that I can have lots of good days without verging over into mania.

Got a nice compliment from the editor who runs BPHope blog. She said it was obvious that I made a big investment in my writing and that I take a lot of care in writing my posts and she appreciated that. That really made me feel good.

So let’s see what else we can accomplish before I head out to shop. I will go look over the sources for the Sean Hunt story and send out emails to ask people to respond. Good to finally feel back in the saddle again. Stay safe from the virus! Get vaccinated when you can!

Computer fixed AGAIN!

THis time Geek Squad showed me how to disable the touch screen myself if it ever gets activated again by a Microsoft update. I have been so frustrated with it the past two days.

My oldest got to Florida safely. Took her a long time due to bad weather but made it around 9 p.m. her time. Hope she got a lot of sleep last night.

Tomorrow I get my hair cut! I am so looking forward to it. I’m fairly sure I will keep it short because all the women I have seen with long grey hair just look sad. I wish mine was fully white like my Papaw’Dell’s or Aunt FLoy’s was but it’s not–just streaky grey. But maybe it will lighten with the years.

I’ve got to do some more work on my drug story. Jerry had more questions so I am trying to find out what I can to answer his further questions. They will make the story better if I can dig up the answers. But it takes time.

Now i am at a quandary with my thesis again. I have a first sections, which is before my diagnosis about 100 pages, a central section on being diagnosed which is 94 pages, then the rest which is longer than either on the aftermath and where I am now. I don’t know if I need to just pick one section for my thesis and focus on making that as descriptive and interesting as I can, or keep it the way it is and try to tell the whole story. I’m just kind of torn.

I need to start laundry for Bob and get dessert. Hope everyone is staying safe from coronavirus. Godspeed.

Interviewing

I go out this morning to interview a friend of mine that’s a counselor for my story. It’s a combination brunch/social visit/interview. I think we will have fun. So I will be going out in just a little bit to meet her.

Got some news that one of the stories I’ve done may have had a tragic conclusion. I wrote about a boy back home with mental health issues that disappeared. I did two stories on him for MCIR, and now Choctaw County has an unidentified body on their hands buried not too far from where he disappeared. So everyone is waiting on the DNA testing to see if it is him. So sad. This business can sometimes be hard when it’s a story like that.

I’ve finished another craft book in my bibliography–Lopate on the nonfiction essay. Now I’l take another crack at Mary Karr. Lopate helped me a lot to solve some narrative problems my thesis had. So hopefully I will get as much out of Karr. Everybody I’ve read so far I’ve taken away something that will help me in thesis, either revising it directly or informing my craft essay I have to turn in. SO this was a really good idea to reread them all.

WEll. if I’m going to meet her I need to get going. I just realized I forgot about Bob’s laundry yesterday. Yipe! I’ll need to finish it this afternoon. Hope everyone is having a good day.

A Little Stuck

I did most of what I wanted to accomplish yesterday–laundry and grocery shopping and general cleaning up and getting all my sources I wanted to talk to interviewed. But no writing. I froze up yesterday when it came time to start. Oh, i also set up an email account strictly for MCIR work. But I couldn’t put words to paper. I got two paragraphs in and then got really frustrated at that.

So I decided to get up early and start and see if that would jumpstart my creativity. So we will see.

Today is going to be a bit of a busy day–I’m going to see Candy, then take my youngest to a dentist appointment, then the bug man is coming to spray, then later my youngest has a band practice and we have a parent meeting. So a lot going on.

My mood is holding up pretty good now that I’m home. Except for being frustrated creatively I’m doing well. Hope everyone else is doing well as well. Keep being safe and stay well. Godspeed.

Chipping Away

Finally got a couple of calls back and re-did the telehealth story. Now I wait for more people on the drug story. This is getting frustrating. I’m keeping a running list of the people who have not replied to my overtures and I’m going to include every one of them in the story as not responding.

I finally made a blueberry cobbler with the same recipe sugaring up the fresh fruit. It was so good! I had some for breakfast. I’ll leave Bob the rest of it for dessert after lunch or supper.

My mood is holding up well this morning. I woke up with Bob then fell back asleep until eight a.m. When I get seriously into thesis I can wake up with Bob and use those early hours to revise.

I wonder if I’m just not going to have to drop the drugs story all together. I’m getting more and more frustrated which makes for antagonistic writing. But I think it’s important to highlight a problem people have in staying stable on meds and say something about it.

We will see what happens throughout the day. It’s barely even started. Hope everyone is having a good day and is staying safe. Godspeed.

Working Away

Finished the teleheath article and now I am about to work on the remission article for BPHope. We will see what happens. I am just taking a short break while I’m on a roll here.

My shopping went well yesterday. I got two outfits for vacation and two pantsuits for church. So much fun. I’ve even already made bracelets for the two new casual outfits. The beads are too casual for Sunday morning church for my taste so I won’t make them for those. I made them while watching Sherlock Holmes last night with Bob. That was fun!

I’m tied up a lot next week. I have Dr. Bishop, Tillie, and my friend Mary Jane to see during next week and will go on vacation the next week. I need to get all of these stories in before that so I can relax and and goof off while I’m gone. When I get back I’ll start back in on thesis. We will see how that goes once it gets here.

Waiting on Bob to call and see how things are going with him. I hope he slept better last night than he has been. He didn’t have to go in early so that was good.

My mood is holding up well so far. I think the change in Latuda was good and that not breaking pills in half is good as well. Hopefully the paperwork for my insurance will go through and I can pay insurance rates on it instead of full freight.

Hope everyone else is doing well. My youngest goes to work with her daddy this afternoon so I will have the house to myself. I hope everything goes well for them there. Have a good weekend!

Going to try to get back to working today. Not sure how I’m going to. I have people coming over to fix things and don’t know how I can just sit down and write today. It may have to be in the afternoon. Or maybe it just won’t happen today. I don’t know.

I didn’t sleep well last night, which I kind of expected because I ran out of trazodone accidentally Saturday night. I need to fill it today. That’s another thing I have to do.

I need to run get dressed; people are supposed to show up at 8:30 a.m. or so. I’m feeling rushed for the first time since I left the hospital–I hope it’s not mania coming back.

I guess I will go get ready. Hope everyone has a good day and is staying safe. Godspeed.