tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-73127042874275896982024-03-05T23:37:49.596+02:00Taking Charge of My LifeIt's time I'm getting on with it, don't you think?Misha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.comBlogger366125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-39439793109942389242016-01-19T12:00:00.000+02:002016-01-20T15:37:36.068+02:00I'll be backHi everyone.<br />
<br />
This makes me really sad, but I've decided to officially put TCoML on hiatus. I've last posted an update in October, and simply put, haven't had time to come back here since.<br />
<br />
Honestly, this is a great position for me to be in, since my life is finally sorting itself out. (So be prepared to see me back here real soon.) The only problem is that, since October, everything has pretty much been happening all at once.<br />
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So, given how little time I have an how many things I still need to do, I've decided to put TCoML on a shelf for a few weeks in order to clear up my schedule as much as possible.<br />
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That said, I've missed writing here. And I do have <i>so </i>much to tell you all. For now, though, I just can't. I'll try and make this hiatus as short as possible.<br />
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For now, though, I'm going to focus on getting my writing blog, <a href="http://sylmion.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">The Five Year Project</a>, back on track. It's been in a bit of a decline over the past two years and I really want to pick it back up. The way I see it, this is a matter of me finding my stride.<br />
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To do that, I'm going to have to end up cutting back some and build things up to a pace I'm happy and comfortable with. In short, I'd love if you stopped by there and said hi every now and then. (I'll also let everyone there know once I'm back to posting here as well.)<br />
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I hope all of you are having a wonderful year so far!<br />
<br />
MishaMisha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-7193182032110078412015-10-07T12:51:00.002+02:002015-10-07T12:51:35.341+02:00Please PrayHey all!<br />
<br />
I was hoping to write a bit more of an interesting post, but today we've reached the make-or-break point in business negotiations, which means we're right in the balance between having another crap three or four months and actually seeing our problems solved.<br />
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Obviously, we're hoping these negotiations swing in the latter direction, so please pray that they go well.<br />
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In the meantime, I'm in for the most stressful wait of my life.<br />
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MishaMisha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-83618398967084707312015-10-05T13:37:00.000+02:002015-10-05T13:37:10.390+02:00Monday MusingsSorry for not posting on Friday. It was a long day, which went largely wasted, but was still just completely exhausting.<br />
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In fact, I've spent a whole weekend and I'm still not feeling completely up to scratch. I've been productive, though. I've been writing (mostly because it gives me a positive outlet for some very negative feelings), but the truth is, I think the last quarter slump has hit me.<br />
<br />
You know the one. Where things are going along just fine, but suddenly, just as the last quarter of the year arrives, you're exhausted.<br />
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For now, I'm trying to stave off the exhaustion as best I can. Heck knows that I have so much to do still. (Getting my blogs back on some sort of track is just one of them.)<br />
<br />
But yeah, unfortunately, I'm just not in the head space to be profound today.<br />
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So instead, I want to know: How are you doing?<br />
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<br />Misha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-90154604628922231862015-09-25T16:25:00.001+02:002015-09-25T16:25:42.363+02:00Progress for Quarter 3<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Wow. I can't believe it's the end of September already. The next time I do this post, it will be at the end of the year. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Before I start, though, just want to say sorry for my absence this month. I was stuck without internet for most of it and simply couldn't get onto Blogger, let alone post anything. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But here I am, so let's see how I did so far. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">The comments in blue are from Quarter 1. Quarter 2's comments are in blue italics. Quarter 3's comments are in blue bold.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Writing:</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">I want to finish as many of the following as possible:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">(For simplicity’s sake, I’m going to list my projects by the Acronyms I use for them, since that’s what I use on my year planners as well. Also, I haven’t gotten around to revealing some titles yet, and now seems like the wrong time.)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Publish:</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Wo6C1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Currently busy with final proofreading and copy-edits. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><i>Final submissions made. I'm waiting for proof copies so that I can OK the paperbacks.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Published. Some loose ends to tie up. </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br style="background-color: white;" /></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Wo6C2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Currently busy with final proofreading and copy-edits.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><i>Ditto.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Ditto.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br style="background-color: white;" /></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">BvB1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Currently busy with penultimate round of copy-edits.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">I'll be getting into prepping for publishing in this quarter. I just need to recover from the first two a bit.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Am in the process of editing this for publishing before the end of the year. </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br style="background-color: white;" /></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">ES1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Rewrite complete. Awaiting revisions.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">I've gone through the book and there's not all that much to revise, so I'll be getting in some critiques soon. I might even do it in July/August.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Ended up not being able to get critiques in yet due to a variety of factors from my life. I am planning to get started this coming month, but obviously, publishing has been postponed until next year.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br style="background-color: white;" /></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">My Untethered Realms Anthology Short Story.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">In for edits.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Feed-back is in. I need to submit for proof-reads at the end of July.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Done. The anthology will be out at the end of October.</b></span></span><br />
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<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Publishing Edits (possibly for publishing in 2015):</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Wo6C3</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Rewrite Prepped. Had to draft the whole thing again, which is why it's a bit behind. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">I've managed a chapter.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Had a huge spurt of productivity and am currently in serious rewrite mode. I'm hoping to see rewrites completed next month.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br style="background-color: white;" /></b></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">BvB2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Rough draft in progress. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><i>Haven't touched this since May. I've literally put everything except my two books for publishing aside.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Haven't touched this, but am planning to start after finishing rewrites.</b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Revisions and Rough Edits</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">O1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Rewrite in progress. This is a bit ahead of schedule. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><i>Now solidly behind schedule.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Rewrites are done. I'm giving myself a short breather for this before revising and sending to CPs. </b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br style="background-color: white;" /></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">VD</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Still awaiting rewrite. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">And still waiting.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>And waiting... (Seriously, though, I'm hoping to at least start rewriting before the end of the year.)</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Rewrites:</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Wo6C4</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Postponed drafting this until next year, because editing Wo6C1 and 2 kept necessitating me re-drafting Wo6C3, which wasted time. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">No change.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Still no change, although I've been figuring a lot of things out while rewriting Wo6C3, so I'm excited to get to this baby. That said, the time wasted from repeated re-drafts taught me a lesson, so I now have a strict no-rough-draft-sequels-until-previous-books'-edits-are-done policy. Which means the rough draft for this only has a hope of being started somewhere toward the middle of next year.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br style="background-color: white;" /></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">SS1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Awaiting rewrite.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">No change.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>I've decided to move the rewrite to early next year after another project cropped up and stole my attention. I will get to it. Just not as soon as I'd anticipated.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br style="background-color: white;" /></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">P</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Rough draft complete, but I'm not happy with it, so I'm putting some thought into my concept and plot before drafting it again. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">I'll be doing this concept work this quarter, hopefully.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>The concept still hasn't fallen into place, so I've decided to put this onto the back-burner, which means I'll probably have a chance of looking at this again in the next two years or so.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br style="background-color: white;" /></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">MDtS</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Awaiting rewrite.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">No change.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Still no change, but I'm trying to see if/when I can squeeze this in early next year.</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Rough Drafts (The ones I do by hand):</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">DD</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Postponed as the concept still doesn't thrill me enough to actually work on it. So I'll probably get around to this one at some point in the next five years. (Yes, I am serious, and yes, I do have all these things scheduled. In fact, my current schedule runs until March of 2020 now.)</b></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">ES2</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Postponed due to that no drafts while still editing previous book policy. I'll get to it before June next year.</b></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">CdW</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Drafts will start in January, but I am currently working on the concept and research.</b></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">HM</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Postponed this until 2017, so that I can have the whole of next year for research. I might need more time for research, though, since it's something that requires intensive information that can only be found at the other side of the country.</b></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">StW</span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Haven't started with any of these yet. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Still haven't started.</span></i><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>This has been on my to-write list since January, but the other projects higher up on this list has simply taken up too much time. I'm hoping to at least write a little bit of it before the year is out.</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Reading</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">I want to read 75 books next year.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">18 so far. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><i>26 so far. I'm way behind because I didn't have time to read much in these past three months.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>33 so far. It's a bit depressing, but then, I can't complain because my writing has been remarkably productive. (My choices for spending free time are usually between writing, reading or anything else. Writing has won most often this quarter.)</b></span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">The minimum amounts of which must consist of:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">5 books or plays in a language other than English.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">1 so far.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">2 so far.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Currently reading my third for the year.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br style="background-color: white;" /></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">5 plays by Shakespeare</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">1 so far.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><i>Still only one.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Two so far.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br style="background-color: white;" /></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">5 classics other than Shakespeare, of which one must be Chaucer.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">2 so far. Neither Chaucer. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><i>Still only 2.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Am now on my fourth, but still not Chaucer.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br style="background-color: white;" /></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">5 non-fiction titles.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">4 so far.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><i>Still 4, with the fifth in progress.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>I'm still on that fifth book, although it could be more, given that some of my blogging friends' books were non-fiction.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br style="background-color: white;" /></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">5 books by some of my blogging friends.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">None yet. Siiiiigh. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><i>Busy with my seventh.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>10 so far.</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Social Media:</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">I seriously need to sort out my Social Media stuff. I haven’t been near active enough last year. What this entails, though, is something I still need to wrap my head around.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Mostly, I'm working on getting back to blogging regularly, visiting blogs and getting out and about on Wattpad. Taking little steps that add up to some sort of whole. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"></span><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">I've fallen off the wagon a bit the last two weeks while I finalized my publishing submissions, but otherwise, I think I've been doing quite well. Especially on Wattpad, where my main "books" have been ranking on or off for some months.</span></i></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>I've been doing great for about two months, and then the internet disconnection this month screwed everything up. Now I'll have to start again.</b></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Life:</span></h3>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Help my family build our own house. (Yep, brick by brick.)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">This is side-lined for now, since we actually found another house to live in. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><i>No longer relevant. Long, sordid story.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>But I will say: Thank HEAVENS.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br style="background-color: white;" /></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Sort out some sort of business that I can do on my own terms. (SO over trusting people to help me when they only help themselves at my cost.)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Working on this. Time will tell what pans out, though. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><i>I'm in fact now working on two businesses, both of which seem to be doing well, although it's hard to be 100% sure when they're so young.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>It's still a bit early to tell, but I think that in about two weeks I can call this one done.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br style="background-color: white;" /></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Seriously. I need to get back to singing.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Nothing on this front yet. Life's still a bit rough. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">Still nothing. I'm hoping to still get to this as my life continues to settle back down.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Holy cow. How is it already September?! Rough year. Hopefully I can still pull something together before this year is out.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br style="background-color: white;" /></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Also, I really really want to paint this year. Other than the above-mentioned house’s walls.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Haven't started one yet, but am busy with some other crafty stuff. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><i>Nothing new to report here.</i></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>I started a painting, but had to stop, because we might have to move soon, and moving a huge canvas covered in wet oil paint is no one's idea of fun.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br style="background-color: white;" /></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Then, I want to continue with my more healthy diet, since it makes me feel good and gives me a lot more energy. (Useful when I’ll be lugging lots of bricks around.)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Yeah this is a bit harder than I thought. Still trying, though.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">This I've done almost immediately after my last stock-taking post.</span><span style="font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"> </span></span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>Er. Yes and no... I'm trying, but it's not easy when you have to pull in your belt and healthy food is EXPENSIVE.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br style="background-color: white;" /></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Last of all, and probably most importantly, I need to get past all the stuff that’s happened this year, so that I can get through 2015 with as little contamination as possible.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;">Working on this, but it's also pretty dang difficult. </span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;" /><i style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;">I seem to be getting there, but sometimes, I get reminded of it, and then I have to chill out all over again.</span></i></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b>I feel like I've made some real progress here. Plus, this past quarter has seen my faith in humanity restored on multiple occasions.</b></span></span><br />
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br /></b></span></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><br style="background-color: white;" /></b></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>Overall: I've been making some progress, especially with regards to publishing and my life. I think that especially my businesses are part of the reason why I'm a behind on my writing/editing goals, since my previously free time has largely gone into work. Which isn't a bad thing either. </i></span></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><i><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></i></span></span>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;">Overall: I've had to shift a lot of goals around to later, but I am still getting a lot of things done this year that'll serve as a great foundation for the next. </span></b></span></span><br />
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<b style="font-size: 15.84px; line-height: 22.176px;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Did you set goals for 2015? How are you doing? </span></b>Misha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-77798986479102621052015-09-07T13:46:00.000+02:002015-09-07T13:47:43.205+02:00PerceptionsRecently, I started re-reading <i>The Three Musketeers</i>. The last time I read it, it was abridged and I was in grade 10. The other time I read it, I was... gosh I don't know... ten? And it was unabridged. <div>
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This time, I'm reading it unabridged in French. </div>
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It's slow going. (Because I have to stop frequently to check that I'm translating correctly, and the book is huge.) </div>
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I'm now at the scene where D'Artagnan meets Rocheford. I stopped just after D'Artagnan challenged Rocheford. </div>
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And you know what's the one thing that's still sticking in my mind two days later?</div>
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D'Artagnan is being a bit of an asshole. </div>
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It's strange, because in neither of the two previous readings did I feel this way. In fact, he was always one of my favorite characters out there. (Although Athos beats him by a mile.) </div>
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Part of me wonders if I was just so young the first time that I simply decided that he was older (at eighteen) and therefore had to be right and just in his outrage.</div>
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However, I have a very good memory for books I've read (so much so that I can translate most of what I've read so far simply because I remembered the English unabridged wording from the first time I read the book.) </div>
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I don't remember this, though: </div>
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Rocheford, when confronted for laughing at D'Artagnan's horse, pointing out that he doesn't laugh often, but that he does reserve the right to laugh when it pleases him. </div>
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D'Artagnan says something along the lines of "Yes, but you should not laugh when it displeases me." (Which I took to mean: It's rude to laugh when it's upsetting to other people.)</div>
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Rocheford's response to the eighteen year old kid who already threatened him by pulling a foot-long section of his rapier out? "Truly sir? Okay. Fair enough." </div>
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And then he walks away. </div>
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D'Artagnan is the one who further instigates the fight between and Rocheford. </div>
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I don't remember ever reading something like this. Or seeing some version of this in any of the (many) movie versions I've seen. So much so that I think that either something is lost in the translation to English, or the editors in English have left this scene out. (Although I could be wrong and I just missed this scene twice.) </div>
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My point? </div>
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I couldn't help thinking, as I mulled this difference over, that this beautifully illustrates how tricky perceptions can be. Not only in reading, but in life as well. We have our perceptions manipulated all the time. (Having more stuff will make us happy. This is what "beautiful" looks like. Oh, so this is the hero of the story, but we can't have the complexity of him being a bit of an asshole, so let's take this bit out.) </div>
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Whether we like it or not, we make judgments (e.g. D'Artagnan = good, Rocheford = Bad) and those further form perceptions, not only in ourselves, but in the people who are being judged. </div>
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Such as poor people who are judged for being poor, without us even knowing the people. And then they, believing these perceptions, act according to the roles we've given them. </div>
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It's definitely something to be mindful of. </div>
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Does it mean that D'Artagnan's douche move will mean I don't like him anymore? Well... no. I might actually like him a bit more for his imperfection. But it <i>is </i>nice to get a clear view of him now. </div>
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Misha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com9tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-18636850027466532652015-09-04T15:33:00.000+02:002015-09-04T15:33:01.172+02:00Battle of the Bulge, Week 2 UpdateIt's Friday again, which means it's time to let you know how I'm doing on my weight loss efforts. This week, it feels like the scale is lying to me. According to the scale, I only lost 200g (7oz) all week, but from the photo, it's clear that it doesn't make sense. <div>
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For one thing, I now have a middle, and my stomach is flat. So I don't think all that can only be 200g. </div>
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I suspect the cause might be water retention, so this week I'll be trying to eat food that prevents this like cucumber, yogurt and salad. </div>
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In the meantime, I'm still struggling with what might or might not be flu. So far, I'm not showing most of the symptoms in my family, but I have been going through bouts of sore throat and achy body, so I don't really want to risk exercise. </div>
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Hopefully this goes away soon, though, because I'm really looking forward to being more active. </div>
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Anyone else with some health goals? How are you doing?</div>
Misha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-49987866831186757862015-08-31T13:00:00.000+02:002015-08-31T13:00:08.321+02:00The Thing About Wisdom and Voices Lost Through CensorshipIt's actually Tuesday today. August 25, but something has been going on on my Facebook for the past two days that is bothering me so much that I decided to write about it. At the same time, I am not giving the person behind it the influence required to make me change my posting schedule in order to publish this and this is why this post is only going live today.<br />
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The truth is that I am furious, but I am trying to keep myself from ranting, because there's really no point. In fact, it would go exactly against the point I am trying to make. I am, however human, so if I come across as sharp in some way... Sorry. Kind of.<br />
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Yesterday, I got a status update on my Facebook that goes along the lines of the following:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"It scares me when people younger than the age of 30 gives lifecoaching and advice about living. And it's even worse because they try to be <i>wise </i>and then they're wiser-than-thou too. You only really know what life is about at 40, so before you try to give some advice, try living a little longer."</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span>
To which I responded, in short, that I am 26 and posting to this blog (and yes, I do give life dvice on it) and I think that it's wrong (specifically stereotyping) to assume that all people under (or over, for that matter) a certain age gives bad (or good) advice because of that.<br />
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The response:<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">"Blog or not, I won't fucking believe that anyone that hasn't lived 40+ years has enough life experience to advise anyone else on life. Once people reach that sort of age, they hang their head in shame for what they said in youth, because young people live in a bubble and believe it to be the whole world, and then they are arrogant and cocky too." </span><br />
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I typed a long response to this, but ended up deleting most of it, because I knew that in the end, it would only waste my time to engage further than I have. And my long comment most certainly would have resulted in a longer and longer argument with someone who doesn't even respect my opinion. The point is, though, that this kind of thinking needs to be talked about. And it goes beyond age. It goes to any possible form of <i>otherness </i>that we can think of. (Color. Sexual Orientation. Where you're born. How you speak. What language is spoken. Beliefs.)<br />
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For simplicity (and because it was the discrimination I have just been exposed to), age will be my focus.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">But the WHOLE TIME I AM WRITING THIS, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I am aware of the fact that as discrimination goes, </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I got it easy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Although I wrote a short comment to close out my part of that discussion and left it at there, I feel that this needs to be part of a larger discussion. The gist of my comment was this: </div>
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<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">I don't care what you think. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I <i>will</i> speak out. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I <i>will </i>share advice. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">I <i>will </i>share my (much larger than people would think) life experience with other people.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">Because if doing so helps <i>one </i>person,</span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">my goals in writing this blog has been achieved.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
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More importantly: </div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;">Dismissing people's voices/advice</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">simply because of some <i>otherness</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">creates a situation where all you ever hear</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;">reinforces your own possibly narrow-minded world view. </span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>THIS IS HOW BUBBLES ARE CREATED.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>And this is how wisdom is lost.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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I might be 26. I might not know everything about life, but I <i>am </i>wise enough to know that I never will until the day I die. And I <i>am </i>open-minded enough to learn from people around me. Be they my age, younger, older, white, black, Asian, Hispanic, straight, trans, gay, Christian like me, Christian not like me, or any other faith. Or of no faith whatsoever. Or any number of other <i>othernesses </i>that I'm not naming because to name them all would take a book. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Because being different from me</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>DOES NOT make your voice</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>have less value than mine.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>AND IT DOES NOT!!!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>GIVE ME THE RIGHT TO SILENCE YOU</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>Be it physically, or through ridicule,</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>or through trying to convince you</b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>that somehow, </b></span></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>YOU'RE NOT WORTHY OF YOUR VOICE.</b></span><br />
<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span>
<span style="font-size: large;">Our opinions might be wrong,</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">but we deserve to have those opinions weighed by merit</span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;">instead of having them discounted simply because we're different.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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And call me an idealist, but I expect similar treatment. Respect is a two-way road. Always. <i>ALWAYS. </i></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;">The world would be a much better place if a lot of people</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b>GREW UP AND REALIZED THIS.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-large;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
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And sadly, that's not an age thing. </div>
Misha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-33848225037198577832015-08-28T17:21:00.000+02:002015-08-28T17:21:05.715+02:00Battle of the Bulge: Week 1Last Friday, I decided to get serious about my weight, which means today's a good time to measure my progress.<br />
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As a reminder, last week I looked like this:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2w25fXwtBr_BxmepFfMvT-0ZgWv6OnTQB9EcE4dG3vW6ynHyKMt3BoGEMbVSTsuo3qcz0XuLscApOTb26Aa4d-cXWS9bzx4PWEsco837vQQODz8Pj4nS6KiqZ-IU47ZkFLVjnmPXxnBJH/s1600/Me+21+August+2015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh2w25fXwtBr_BxmepFfMvT-0ZgWv6OnTQB9EcE4dG3vW6ynHyKMt3BoGEMbVSTsuo3qcz0XuLscApOTb26Aa4d-cXWS9bzx4PWEsco837vQQODz8Pj4nS6KiqZ-IU47ZkFLVjnmPXxnBJH/s320/Me+21+August+2015.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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This is me a week later:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT7WycLPkwPMLmYkn2i07smdxNKpbizukVgCTHzNiDz7_xiJNaY8XsoJJpkJxfp0CIc5HSzUUGvrQkUfyqbwCHcgAjDilKYu0IAByIK8Ol1MUJEqGQ56b8decgj7FmVIWVf1xHEIul3omD/s1600/Me+28+August+2015.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiT7WycLPkwPMLmYkn2i07smdxNKpbizukVgCTHzNiDz7_xiJNaY8XsoJJpkJxfp0CIc5HSzUUGvrQkUfyqbwCHcgAjDilKYu0IAByIK8Ol1MUJEqGQ56b8decgj7FmVIWVf1xHEIul3omD/s320/Me+28+August+2015.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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Wow, looking at these two pictures together, you can already see a huge difference. How huge?<br />
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I weighed 96kg (211lb) and lost 4.6kg (10lb) this week. Current weight is 91.5kg (201lb).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha-acSKneoRjZdpHvcoLFxS2VmrOw1I0GD7R1sMY2MJLqLJY5oskE4sqi0EFNPvldKtworATNC-lkTSxyYzr3KBxNthHrrHdMagRV-lWVs7dvGeBwRnBpsYMIcxSVfIrWUMnX5B7-G59Oi/s1600/BMI+Week+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha-acSKneoRjZdpHvcoLFxS2VmrOw1I0GD7R1sMY2MJLqLJY5oskE4sqi0EFNPvldKtworATNC-lkTSxyYzr3KBxNthHrrHdMagRV-lWVs7dvGeBwRnBpsYMIcxSVfIrWUMnX5B7-G59Oi/s320/BMI+Week+1.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Which means that at the rate I'm going, I'll be hitting the overweight range by next Friday (although I'm not counting on it). If you're worried that I'm crash dieting, I'm not.<br />
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What I have done is this:<br />
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1) I've started drinking a glass of water before and after every meal.<br />
2) I temporarily cut out most dairy and fruit, but still eat things like sweet potato, carrots etc in controlled amounts.<br />
3) Speaking of controlled amounts: I'm dishing up less food for myself, and then paying attention to how I feel if I'm done. If I'm still hungry, I'll get myself a smaller second portion. Most of the time, though, I'm not.<br />
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Next Week:<br />
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1) I want to continue with the way I'm eating and drinking water until Friday. After that, I'm slowly going to start introducing fruit and dairy into my diet again. It's just not sustainable to eat the way I have been, but it definitely gave my diet a good kick-start.<br />
2) I want to try and get some exercise. This week, I (and my mother) have been feeling flu-ey, so I just haven't been able to do much. Hopefully, this will change next week. (Don't worry, if I exercise more, I'll eat a bit more because I'll be hungrier.)<br />
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Most of the weight I budged is probably water weight, so I'm thinking I'll lose a bit less next week. But that's okay as long as the weight keeps coming down.<br />
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<b>Anyone else working on losing some weight? How's it going? </b>Misha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-43911501170455286112015-08-26T15:20:00.002+02:002015-08-26T15:20:56.850+02:00A to Z of Things I Learned in 2014: UnderstandingI've been trying to find a nice, upbeat everything-is-possible way of saying this, but I can't, so this post is short. (This post will be themed around Christianity, so feel free to not read on if you don't want to.)<br />
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Sometimes, things happen that we don't understand. Sometimes, those things change our lives. Sometimes they make our lives horrible. Sometimes they make us so happy and come so suddenly that we can't understand what the heck is going on.<br />
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Even if we see God in the equation, things are still so confusing. <i>Is what I'm going through God's will? Really? If it is, why? </i><br />
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<i>Why? </i><br />
<i>Why? </i><br />
<i>Why? </i><br />
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Our human characteristics make that we always want neat answers and to put everything, even our lives into a box. In doing so, we often want to submit God to the same treatment.<br />
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And it just doesn't work that way. God is infinite and all-knowing, and often the things He does defies our understanding. Even an explanation won't help, because our perspectives are so limited that even if He explained everything step by step, He'd lose us along the way.<br />
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So if we can't understand, what then?<br />
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<b>Then we pray. Then we have faith. Then we trust. </b><br />
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Goodness. It's so hard even to write. Because even now, things are going on in my life that I don't understand and can't control, and those three things aren't easy for me to do. Okay no praying is easy. The trust bit? Not so much.<br />
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Our faith falters and as I mentioned in last week's post, we often forget to trust. So it's a fortunate thing that God loves us anyway, and won't desert us. And no matter what, He'll give us a way to get through and/or over our difficulties.<br />
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<b>But often the first step is to stop trying to understand and start having faith.</b><br />
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Are you struggling with anything at the moment? You don't have to specify what that thing is. Just let me know and I'll pray for you. In return, I hope you'll pray for me and my family too, because the spectre of 2014 just doesn't seem to want to stay dead and I'm so, so very tired of fighting its many forms.Misha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-40607214767617773112015-08-24T13:00:00.000+02:002015-08-24T13:00:10.150+02:00A Life Lesson From PaintingAs you might know, I've recently decided to start a painting. A huge one. It's about half the size of a big wardrobe. (I know this before I have a big wardrobe standing right next to it at the moment.)<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrKTtkdW6IkJY2pS7MkuxgUGCLVR9s_pnGA8jODKlBYQOP7h2rFehDhQTvrNhyKOlQuxFXUoPfTRu7ifhrk8PFvFOabGfngc04POz6bO82uMb-aR0niY2-zbGdaxOTejVeXrJq0Oatt6wc/s1600/DSCN3044.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjrKTtkdW6IkJY2pS7MkuxgUGCLVR9s_pnGA8jODKlBYQOP7h2rFehDhQTvrNhyKOlQuxFXUoPfTRu7ifhrk8PFvFOabGfngc04POz6bO82uMb-aR0niY2-zbGdaxOTejVeXrJq0Oatt6wc/s320/DSCN3044.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is the sketch I did to make sure everything fit in.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
On Saturday, I decided to start painting. Nothing too detailed. Just to block in some color so that I can get more of an outline. Since I'm not exactly sure (yet) where the sky ends, and some things have holes in them that reveal more sky, I decided to start blocking that in first. My further idea is that if something shines through when I'm doing the clouds etc, it won't look like blank canvas.<br />
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But here's the thing. When I took the picture I'm painting this from, it was a gray day. And although I tried to find a clear day, I couldn't find the right angle. Besides that, I decided it's better to paint it as it was, since it's supposed to remind me of my trip to Paris. (It was spring, but it was cloudy and cold the whole time.) And I like how the fact that it was cloudy yet bright made things look just a bit more vivid.<br />
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All excellent reasons to stick to gray skies. But it took me FOUR HOURS to mix the right shade of gray. White and Black wouldn't cut it. I made my gray with red. Long, very technical story on how that works, and since I doubt anyone cares about my pedantic mission to create the right color...<br />
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I got the color and painted for about an hour. When I was done, the light was no longer good enough for me to move on to the next block. That would have taken creating a new color and... oh... I doubt you'll care about that anyway.<br />
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I actually like the gray block I've put in. It's subtle and airy. (So much so that the guide lines I drew are still visible.) But I know because I put it there. If I take a picture of it?<br />
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Nothing. it looks almost exactly like the picture above. The only difference being that in the building, where I used a slightly darker shade and stopped without coloring the whole thing, the canvas looks like it has one or two brush strokes.<br />
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Which means I spent <b>five hours </b>on something that looks like I didn't do anything at all. And then I woke up on Sunday to cloudy skies, which meant that I still couldn't add something to make the painting look like I actually worked on it.<br />
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Today I thought I'd steal a few hours to create something worth reporting and... you guessed it. Cloudy skies.<br />
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It got me thinking, though. Sometimes, we set ourselves big goals. (This painting is definitely the most ambitious one I've ever started.) And sometimes, achieving those goals means taking such little steps that it looks like we haven't moved forward at all.<br />
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We get frustrated when we're not moving forward fast enough. And when life clouds things so we're stuck on the last little step we took. Which means that we're tempted to push and make too big strides when we are able to move forward. Except that's not always the right thing to do.<br />
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Sometimes, those small, seemingly invisible steps are important, because they form the foundation of what we're doing. (Like blocking out the picture before starting on more detail.)<br />
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So remember:<br />
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<b>Even a little progress is progress. </b><br />
<b>And those little things that no one else sees, </b><br />
<b>Are the foundation of what you will achieve in time. </b><br />
<b>No one sees a foundation and says: "Oh look! Such a beautiful structure." </b><br />
<b>They only see and admire what you build upon it. </b><br />
<b>But that's no reason to skip laying the foundation altogether. </b><br />
<b>Or you wouldn't be able to build much.</b><br />
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<b>Thoughts? Who else here is busy working on something requiring great patience? </b>Misha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-16647411998547278202015-08-21T12:23:00.001+02:002015-08-21T12:23:04.192+02:00The Battle of the Bulge Starts TodaySigh. There's no way for me to ease into this today, so I'm just going to fall in through the door and spill. <div>
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Remember where I said that I wanted to continue with my healthy eating habits? Well... It's had some mixed results. </div>
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Yes, overall, I can say that I've been eating better on the whole than before I started cutting out refined carbs. So technically, I can say that goal is generally speaking, achieved. </div>
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However, when things were going rough in the beginning of the year, I fell off the water wagon. Spectacularly. I ate much worse and much <i>more </i>than before I started cutting carbs. If you want to understand craving and addiction, go cold turkey for a year and then be told you have to consume (but in limited amounts) the thing you're addicted to.</div>
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My addiction is sugar and refined carbs. And once I started consuming them, the hunger did not end (literally) until the day I cut back drastically. </div>
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<b>Here's the problem</b>. I picked up ALL of the weight that I'd lost in the year before. </div>
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<b>Here's the bigger problem</b>: When I cut back in May, I didn't cut back to the portions I should have. And also, I threw myself into work and writing to the extent that calling my lifestyle sedentary would be the understatement of the century. </div>
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<b>Here's the result: </b>The weight, while not going up, isn't budging either, and it's simply not a healthy weight to be at.</div>
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Which means that when it comes to my health goals, I'm going to have to be a bit more specific.</div>
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So. </div>
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<b>Goal one:</b> Lose between 20kg (44lb) and 30kg (66lb)</div>
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<b>Goal two: </b>Regain control over what and how much I'm eating. AND drinking more water.</div>
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<b>Goal three: </b>Excercise.</div>
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<b>My Reasoning? </b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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I'm 1.7m tall. From experience I know that 66kg (145lb) is a good weight for me. (Although it looks a bit too skinny for my taste.) It's well within the healthy BMI range, though, so I arbitrarily picked it as my "Ideal" weight. However, I'm not going to be very unhappy if I settle somewhere around 75kg, (165lb) since it actually looks better on me, which is my highest goal weight. I'm aiming for somewhere in that ballpark. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHre7Wvp614eOamJZq_FPhhhZUyEGGivo4sjavbo6v4RUB8GTS-HCmrfzmAXCCwfnMEjWrIi6mGxxYwD16LGWGwYjcEZq2L0UAmggfAVN-szaF4Yr-J7z7sNxz-ru2YPPgVP9yK03w0eU/s1600/Week+0.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="252" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzHre7Wvp614eOamJZq_FPhhhZUyEGGivo4sjavbo6v4RUB8GTS-HCmrfzmAXCCwfnMEjWrIi6mGxxYwD16LGWGwYjcEZq2L0UAmggfAVN-szaF4Yr-J7z7sNxz-ru2YPPgVP9yK03w0eU/s320/Week+0.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Yes. You're reading the chart right. At the moment, I'm weighing 96kg (211lb). Which puts me solidly in the Obese range. I am NOT thrilled to return here. So I'm getting out as fast as I <b>healthily </b>can. </div>
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<b>How fast? </b></div>
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<b><br /></b></div>
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I'm not going to crash diet, but I will systematically cut my portions. The diet I'm on is very filling, which means that if I do it right, I don't need to eat as much. And I don't get hungry. I don't get all that many cravings. </div>
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<br /></div>
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But I've been messing with those principles, which means that even now, when I've cut back, I'm not eating completely right, and as such I'm also eating as much as <b>four times </b>more than I need for my lifestyle. </div>
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I'm figuring that the weight will come down steadily once I'm back into last year's routine, and should stay off because 1) I don't need/crave more food and 2) I'll be more active. </div>
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I'm hoping that I'll be in the "overweight" section by the end of the year, which means I'll be somewhere in my goal range by early next year. </div>
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I don't want to put too much of a time limit on my progress, because I don't want to lose too fast. I want to lose at a rate that's natural to my body, eating and exercising in a way that fits my life-style in a sustainable way. Because if at all possible, I really don't want to be back at this weight again.</div>
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And this time, although I'm not a fan of the scale, (I'm a believer of healthy living for the sake of it.) I will be weighing in for as long as I'm seriously pursuing this goal. </div>
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<b>Who's with me? I'll be updating on Fridays. </b></div>
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<b>Oh one more thing: </b>I'll be taking a picture every week in this exact same outfit every Friday. No Make-up. No fuss. No Photoshop. No Frowns. (Not going to be all melodramatic and sad-looking about my weight. My weight isn't depressing me. I want to shake it because it's unhealthy. And I'm smiling because I know that I am going to win this battle of the bulge.) </div>
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Misha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-24486121316101014502015-08-19T21:23:00.000+02:002015-08-19T21:41:05.407+02:00The A to Z of Things I Learned Last Year: TrustIt's back. For those of you wondering what the heck this is: I didn't finish the A to Z Challenge back in April, but I thought that the series would be of some use to me and people reading them, so I've been courageously working my way through the alphabet.<br />
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I hit a bit of a snag when I had to publish two books, but now I'm back, which means we get to pick up where we left off. </div>
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The theme is about the things I've learned in some very rough times in 2014 and part of 2015. Today's post will definitely be touching on God and Christianity, so if it isn't your cup of tea, please feel free to not read on. </div>
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Maybe you'd like to see the new painting I'm working on? (It's a sketch, so squint your eyes and imagine awesomeness, please.) If so, all you need to do is click <a href="http://takeoneredwall.blogspot.com/2015/08/while-i-was-gone.html" target="_blank">here</a>. </div>
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*Waits for those who want to leave to leave.*</div>
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Those of you who quickly snuck out to see the sketch might have seen this picture in the same post. I hung it on my bed because it looks pretty there, but there's a bit more to the story.</div>
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See I made this necklace, and the whole time I was working on it, I was talking to God about the state of my life at the time. I was in my third year of university and... well things were going badly. I didn't have a name for it at the time, but eventually I'd learn the name and it works. </div>
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At the time I was making this necklace, I was smack bang in the middle of an existential crisis. You can see it unfolding in my first years of blogging, but I'm not going to go into too much detail here. Short version is that I no longer knew who I was, because the things I'd been taught to believe myself to be were all lies.</div>
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It's not a feeling I can easily describe, but I guess the best way to put it is to say that I was present, but internally there was nothing left. Terrifying. And not something I'd wish on my worst enemy. I turned to art at the time, which is what actually drove me to finish the books I published this year. Part of that was making this necklace. </div>
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As I worked on it, God spoke to me and gave me a beautiful message: "I will always be here."</div>
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It was wonderful to hear. It didn't matter who I was. He'd be there for me anyway. It didn't matter what I was going through. He'd be there to either make it better or help me through it.</div>
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But to be aware of this, I needed to trust Him. To trust that He'd never desert me, that He'd help and guide me if I let Him.</div>
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I find, though, that I forget. No, I don't forget the great things He's done for me in the past. Or the fact that He gave me (and all of his children) this promise. No, I forget to <b>make the choice </b>to trust Him. Because yes, it is a choice. It's a centering of our thoughts on Him and His deep, unending love when so much is going on to distract us from it.</div>
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This little stone cross and its few stone beads are a visual reminder of this. So now it's hanging on my bed. That way, I remember to trust when I go to sleep and to trust as soon as I wake up. </div>
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I just want to close this post with a quick prayer.</div>
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<b><i>God, thank You that You're always there,</i></b></div>
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<b><i>That You continue to love us no matter what we do,</i></b></div>
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<b><i>Or what is done to us. </i></b></div>
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<b><i>Thank You that in the hardest times, You're still there to guide us through, </i></b></div>
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<b><i>And that You're there to celebrate with us when things take a turn for the better. </i></b></div>
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<b><i>I pray, Lord, that You bless us all, </i></b></div>
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<b><i>And that You make yourself felt, seen or heard by everyone who know that You're supposed to be there,</i></b></div>
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<b><i>But who just can't be sure. </i></b></div>
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<b><i>I ask that You remind those of us who forget to trust in Your promise. </i></b></div>
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<b><i>I pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, Your Son. </i></b></div>
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<b><i>Amen.</i></b></div>
Misha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-89517374423850006812015-08-17T12:23:00.002+02:002015-08-17T12:23:59.791+02:00Back at last.Hi all!<br />
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Sorry for my prolonged absence. Things went a bit nuts with my two books coming out, and then my blog tour.<br />
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I'm slowly getting back into the groove now, which means I'll be getting back to more regular posts here too.<br />
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Wednesday I'll get back to my A to Z posting, and then I also want to start painting AND I'll do another update on my crocheting progress.<br />
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So... how are you doing?Misha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-24605957424455037892015-07-17T12:03:00.003+02:002015-07-17T12:03:48.333+02:00Hi everyone!<br />
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I only realized now that I haven't been posting here lately. Sorry about that. I'm just not in a good headspace for writing posts about my life right now.<br />
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Particularly, because my life is currently dominated by the day job (which I don't really write about) and my two books' release date (which I'm writing about A LOT for my blog tour.)<br />
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So, I'm thinking I'll be very quiet until the tour's over. I'd love to see you there, though! To find out where I am, on any given day, please click <a href="http://sylmion.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">here</a>.<br />
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Have a great weekend!<br />
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And I'll see you soon.<br />
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MishaMisha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-25384995655697055442015-07-09T13:45:00.002+02:002015-07-09T13:45:54.032+02:00My Progress for Quarter 2<div style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
Hi everyone! I'm a bit late this time around, but I've been doing a lot of grafting to get through all the work needed to publish two books at the same time. But this is how I did. The comments in blue are from Quarter 1. Quarter 2's comments are in blue italics.</div>
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Writing:</h3>
<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">I want to finish as many of the following as possible:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">(For simplicity’s sake, I’m going to list my projects by the Acronyms I use for them, since that’s what I use on my year planners as well. Also, I haven’t gotten around to revealing some titles yet, and now seems like the wrong time.)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br />
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Publish:</h3>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Wo6C1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Currently busy with final proofreading and copy-edits. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>Final submissions made. I'm waiting for proof copies so that I can OK the paperbacks.</i></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Wo6C2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Currently busy with final proofreading and copy-edits.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>Ditto.</i></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">BvB1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Currently busy with penultimate round of copy-edits.</span><br />
<i><span style="color: #0b5394;">I'll be getting into prepping for publishing in this quarter. I just need to recover from the first two a bit.</span></i><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">ES1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Rewrite complete. Awaiting revisions.</span><br />
<i><span style="color: #0b5394;">I've gone through the book and there's not all that much to revise, so I'll be getting in some critiques soon. I might even do it in July/August.</span></i><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">My Untethered Realms Anthology Short Story.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">In for edits.</span><br />
<i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Feed-back is in. I need to submit for proof-reads at the end of July.</span></i><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br />
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Publishing Edits (possibly for publishing in 2015):</h3>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Wo6C3</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Rewrite Prepped. Had to draft the whole thing again, which is why it's a bit behind. </span><br />
<i><span style="color: #0b5394;">I've managed a chapter.</span></i><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">BvB2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Rough draft in progress. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>Haven't touched this since May. I've literally put everything except my two books for publishing aside.</i></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;"></span><br />
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Revisions and Rough Edits</h3>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">O1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Rewrite in progress. This is a bit ahead of schedule. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>Now solidly behind schedule.</i></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">VD</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Still awaiting rewrite. </span><br />
<i><span style="color: #0b5394;">And still waiting.</span></i><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br />
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Rewrites:</h3>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Wo6C4</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Postponed drafting this until next year, because editing Wo6C1 and 2 kept necessitating me re-drafting Wo6C3, which wasted time. </span><br />
<i><span style="color: #0b5394;">No change.</span></i><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">SS1</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Awaiting rewrite.</span><br />
<i><span style="color: #0b5394;">No change.</span></i><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">P</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Rough draft complete, but I'm not happy with it, so I'm putting some thought into my concept and plot before drafting it again. </span><br />
<i><span style="color: #0b5394;">I'll be doing this concept work this quarter, hopefully.</span></i><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">MDtS</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Awaiting rewrite.</span><br />
<i><span style="color: #0b5394;">No change.</span></i><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br />
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
Rough Drafts (The ones I do by hand):</h3>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">DD</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">ES2</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">CdW</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">HM</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">StW</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Haven't started with any of these yet. </span><br />
<i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Still haven't started.</span></i><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br />
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
Reading</h3>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">I want to read 75 books next year.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">18 so far. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>26 so far. I'm way behind because I didn't have time to read much in these past three months.</i></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">The minimum amounts of which must consist of:</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">5 books or plays in a language other than English.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">1 so far.</span><br />
<i><span style="color: #0b5394;">2 so far.</span></i><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">5 plays by Shakespeare</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">1 so far.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>Still only one.</i></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">5 classics other than Shakespeare, of which one must be Chaucer.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">2 so far. Neither Chaucer. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>Still only 2.</i></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">5 non-fiction titles.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">4 so far.</span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>Still 4, with the fifth in progress.</i></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">5 books by some of my blogging friends.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">None yet. Siiiiigh. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>Busy with my seventh.</i></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br />
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
Social Media:</h3>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">I seriously need to sort out my Social Media stuff. I haven’t been near active enough last year. What this entails, though, is something I still need to wrap my head around.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Mostly, I'm working on getting back to blogging regularly, visiting blogs and getting out and about on Wattpad. Taking little steps that add up to some sort of whole. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><br /></span>
<i><span style="color: #0b5394;">I've fallen off the wagon a bit the last two weeks while I finalized my publishing submissions, but otherwise, I think I've been doing quite well. Especially on Wattpad, where my main "books" have been ranking on or off for some months.</span></i><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br />
<h3 style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; margin: 0px; position: relative;">
Life:</h3>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Help my family build our own house. (Yep, brick by brick.)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">This is side-lined for now, since we actually found another house to live in. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>No longer relevant. Long, sordid story.</i></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Sort out some sort of business that I can do on my own terms. (SO over trusting people to help me when they only help themselves at my cost.)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Working on this. Time will tell what pans out, though. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>I'm in fact now working on two businesses, both of which seem to be doing well, although it's hard to be 100% sure when they're so young.</i></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Seriously. I need to get back to singing.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Nothing on this front yet. Life's still a bit rough. </span><br />
<i><span style="color: #0b5394;">Still nothing. I'm hoping to still get to this as my life continues to settle back down.</span></i><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Also, I really really want to paint this year. Other than the above-mentioned house’s walls.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Haven't started one yet, but am busy with some other crafty stuff. </span><br />
<span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>Nothing new to report here.</i></span><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Then, I want to continue with my more healthy diet, since it makes me feel good and gives me a lot more energy. (Useful when I’ll be lugging lots of bricks around.)</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Yeah this is a bit harder than I thought. Still trying, though.</span><br />
<i><span style="color: #0b5394;"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">This I've done almost immediately after my last stock-taking post.</span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;"> </span></span></i><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Last of all, and probably most importantly, I need to get past all the stuff that’s happened this year, so that I can get through 2015 with as little contamination as possible.</span><br style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;">Working on this, but it's also pretty dang difficult. </span><br />
<i><span style="color: #0b5394;">I seem to be getting there, but sometimes, I get reminded of it, and then I have to chill out all over again.</span></i><br style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;" /><span style="background-color: white; color: #0b5394; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;"><br /></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;"><span style="color: #0b5394;"><i>Overall: I've been making some progress, especially with regards to publishing and my life. I think that especially my businesses are part of the reason why I'm a behind on my writing/editing goals, since my previously free time has largely gone into work. Which isn't a bad thing either. </i></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;"><span style="color: #351c75;"><br /></span></span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, sans-serif; font-size: 15.8400001525879px; line-height: 22.1760005950928px;"><b>How are your goals coming along?</b></span>Misha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-30592457406615341982015-07-06T11:04:00.001+02:002015-07-06T11:04:30.026+02:00What exactly are we doing to ourselves?!<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WWTRwj9t-vU" width="560"></iframe>Misha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-24606119233921272762015-06-24T12:35:00.000+02:002015-06-24T12:35:53.448+02:00A to Z of Lessons Learned in 2014: SolidarityJust a quick recap for everyone who's new to this series: Because 2014 sucked as a year, I'm making it a mission to write about the A to Z of things I learned from the hard time. It's my way of finding something positive in a difficult time. <div>
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<div>
When I picked out words to go with each letter, I knew that <i>Solidarity</i> had to be S. Because in the past eighteen months, I've learned just how blessed I am to have a family and friends who jump right in to fight the good fight with me. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
Times like these are when we see who's really with us, and I'm grateful to say that there were more of these angels in human form than my family and I had expected. Which isn't to say anything bad about the people in our lives. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
It's just that after the events in 2014, we've lost a lot of faith in people. And then there was 2015, with more people seemingly out to prove that humanity just sucks. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
And yet, our friends and family really stepped up even when we'd given up on hoping that anyone was on our side. These people proved to us that good is still out there. That we can't give up because they haven't given up on us. </div>
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<br /></div>
<div>
They also taught me how much I want to be this friend to other people. Who's there when those people need me most. </div>
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So this is just a thank you. Even if they won't read this post. </div>
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I've thanked them personally too, of course. But the funny thing is that most of them didn't even want to be thanked. </div>
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They inspire me to be better. </div>
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<br />They inspire me to be <i>there. </i></div>
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<b>Have you also seen solidarity at work in a hard time? Any people surprise you by coming through when you least expected it?</b> </div>
Misha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-19608286888963615772015-06-22T11:54:00.001+02:002015-06-22T11:54:57.884+02:00Just a quick helloHi all! Sorry for being so absent lately (and specifically for not visiting any blogs.) Life's been a bit crazy lately. First, there's the fact that I have a month left to submit both my books' final versions for publishing. Then, there's the fact that I have to get the edits etc done while growing my new business. Which means I often have very little time left to do anything else.<br />
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I'm hoping to submit both books this weekend, which means I should hopefully be a bit better about blog visits and the like from next week.<br />
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In the interests of that, I've recently put out a call for questions for anyone wanting to ask. If you're curious about anything on this blog or about me (that's fit for public consumption), please click <a href="http://mishatakescharge.blogspot.com/2015/06/asking-for-questions.html" target="_blank">here</a> and leave the question in the comments.<br />
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That's me for now. I should be back on Wednesday with my A to Z post.<br />
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How are you doing?Misha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-50866896426049300442015-06-17T21:08:00.000+02:002015-06-17T21:57:39.386+02:00A to Z of Things I Learned in 2014: Reasons<div>
Hi all. Just a heads up that my post will be dealing about my faith. So if you'd rather not read it, maybe you'd like to find out how my <a href="http://sylmion.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">writing's</a> going? </div>
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If you are going to read on, I'm going to warn you that this subject is really tricky for me to write about, because I'm wrestling with my thoughts with it as I type. </div>
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2014 and the first three months of 2015 were rough on me and my family. Without going into too much detail, I'm just going to say that those 15 months cost us a lot. And even today, we're having to deal with some of the results of things that happened in this time.<br />
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In April, I decided to start writing about the things I'd learned because I wanted something positive to come out of my time. So instead of focusing on all of the things that went wrong. </div>
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Basically, what I'm doing is actively giving everything that's happened a reason. </div>
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I know a lot of people say that "everything has a reason." In a sense, that's true and not quite true at the same time. </div>
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Often, the simple reason behind something happening is really just that someone made a choice that has a terrible effect on other people's lives, unless the people who are affected in fact make a point to take something more from it somehow. </div>
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Sorry. I'm finding this really hard to write today, because so much of today's post involves the way God works. And let's face it. We just don't know. I mean, I can reason that He wouldn't actively do things to hurt His children. But it could also be that sometimes He puts us through difficult times to make us better people. (I know a lot of people believe this.) </div>
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I...think I fall somewhere in the middle of this. I think He does sometimes guide us into difficult places in life to teach us. Sometimes. There are some things that I just can't imagine Him doing, but then it could just be that my understanding is flawed. Most of the time, I just chalk it up as something I'll ask Him one day. </div>
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The point is that regardless of the answer, that even if God <i>wants </i>us to learn from what happened, we won't unless we decide to learn. So if we want to believe that everything happens for a reason, it's up to us to make it true by finding that reason. </div>
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Thoughts? </div>
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Misha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-18609540765723043452015-06-12T17:56:00.002+02:002015-06-12T17:56:37.731+02:00Asking FOR questionsHi Everyone!<br />
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I haven't done this in a while, but enjoyed last time so much that I thought I'd give it another whirl. Basically you (Yes <b>YOU</b>) get to ask me anything. As long as it isn't insulting or rude in some way, I'll answer whatever you ask as best I can.<br />
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Then I'll answer them over the next few weeks.<br />
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Have a great weekend!<br />
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MishaMisha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-40445603100916450022015-06-10T19:45:00.001+02:002015-06-10T19:45:12.943+02:00A to Z of Things I Learned in 2014: QuietHi all! Just a heads-up that this post loosely relates to my Christian faith. So if you'd rather not read about it, maybe you'd like to read about my <a href="http://sylmion.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">writing</a>?<br />
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Slowly, but surely, I'm making my way through the lessons learned in 2014. For those of you who missed it, I started this as my A to Z Challenge theme, but then life and the Internet and stuff got in the way.<br />
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I think that me writing about all this is a productive, even helpful way to work through a really craptastic year. So I decided to keep posting about it once a week until I get to Z.<br />
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Today, I'm writing about Quiet.<br />
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I don't know about you, but this is one of those things I struggle with. I can't sit still. Even when I'm doing nothing, I'm actually doing something like crocheting to keep focused on doing nothing. Yeah, I know how funny it sounds. The thing is just that basically, I've gone and taught myself to turn literally everything into words and pictures in my mind.<br />
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It's good, in that I can let my mind wander and come up with amazing ideas. It also helps me absorb more and to make links that I can later use in my writing. AND it helps me to write because I can theoretically look at a blank wall and come up with at least a 100 words to say about it (or something related to it).<br />
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What's not good is that it's pretty noisy in here, and it's a rare day indeed that I switch it off. Add to that t.v. and radio and social media and news and things just turn into chaos. Generally, I don't mind. I actually like the fact that words come to me with the minimal prodding. I like that ideas are already floating in my head, waiting to be discovered. Or sometimes not (I get story ideas in dreams every-so-often.)<br />
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It's just that... sometimes, it feels like everything becomes too loud. And then, it feels like I can't really hear God as well as I should. As I mentioned in my previous post, I believe that prayer should be a continuous, natural conversation with a friend who happens to be with me all the time. Sometimes, it's like trying to talk in a night club.<br />
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Night clubs are fun. They're just not good places to build relationships. So sometimes, it's necessary to turn things off and just listen.<br />
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The nice thing I discovered last year is that quiet is nice too. It helps me rest. Brings me a sense of peace. Especially in that it makes me more aware of God's presence in my life. Nowadays, life's getting noisy again, but I'm trying to steal moments of quiet. Just so that I can listen.<br />
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How about you? Also have noise in your head? How do you turn it off?Misha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-3023385190086554012015-06-03T16:27:00.001+02:002015-06-03T16:27:08.506+02:00A to Z of Things Learned in 2014: PrayerHi all! Today I'll most certainly be writing about God and my faith, so if you'd rather not read this, maybe you'd prefer to head over to my <a href="http://sylmion.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">other blog</a>?<br />
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Right? Okay good.<br />
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I'm still continuing with my A to Z list of Lessons I learned in 2014 and the few months afterward. It's slow going of course, but I do feel like I'm slowly but surely making progress.<br />
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Back when I was picking words to correspond to the letters, <i>prayer </i>immediately came up for P. Because basically, I really don't know where I'd be if I hadn't been praying.<br />
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I don't mean this in a strict "praying for the right outcome" sense. In fact, I really spent very little time on those sorts of prayers.<br />
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I don't really follow a "Thank You, You're wonderful, now can I please have this?" Format. Nor do I set out a certain amount of time every day to pray. This in particular, I know people find weird. I understand why they would, too.<br />
<br />The thing is, such regimented, methodical approaches to prayer leave me cold. Please don't see it as my knocking it. I honestly believe there's a place and reason for anyone.<br />
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It's just that it often seems to me that a lot of people (especially in my church) focus on one type of praying as if it's the only one out there, when in fact it's not.<br />
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Anyway. Prayer to me is a focus and awareness on God's presence in my life. Which means it's not something I do every morning at a specific time. It's something I do the moment something brings my attention back to it.<br />
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Like say... Right now. Because I know that this is a difficult subject to write about and if the Holy Spirit doesn't give me the right words, this post won't do what it's supposed to. Which is to say: Help someone in some way.<br />
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On another level, I'm typing this while listening to the rain against my window, and I'm thankful because I know that God's the one who made sure we got the house just before the weather turned cold.<br />
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In these moments, I say "Thank you." Or "Please help me." And if I've ever said to you that "I'm praying for you." It means that right at that moment, I had just finished my prayer for you.<br />
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So to me, prayer is a constant reminder that even in the worst of times, God's right there with me. That He was accessible whenever I wanted to rant about my circumstances.<br />
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But that's not the best thing about prayer. The best thing was when God answered. When He warmed me and strengthened me so tangibly that I couldn't doubt for a second that He was there. The amazing thing was that this <i>always </i>happened during or after moments when I fought with Him for putting me and my loved ones through this.<br />
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In listening to Him, I learned all of the things I've written down so far. All of the things that I'm going to write.<br />
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<b>But I wouldn't have learned anything if I hadn't been praying and trying to understand.</b><br />
<br />Misha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-73076893817515050882015-06-01T15:45:00.001+02:002015-06-01T15:45:05.780+02:00There, but for the grace of God, go I...Although I'm just going to write this post stream-of-conscious-style and I really don't know where it's headed, it's probably going to feature God and Christianity in some way. So if that's not your thing, maybe you'd prefer to visit my <a href="http://sylmion.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">writing blog</a>? <div>
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In my country, we have a rampant unemployment problem. I mean really. It's bad. Add to that the fact that pensions and welfare barely covers the cost of survival... and it gives you an idea of the absolute nightmare it is to be on the wrong side of the bread-line. (Especially when minimum wage comes into play, but I'm not going to debate the pros and cons of minimum wage.) </div>
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The thing is that South Africa is generally seen as a place of opportunity. In a sense, it is. The problem is, however, that sometimes, this point of view leads to this idea that if somehow you're struggling, it's all your fault because opportunity is "ripe for the picking." This from the point of view of a lucky few who actually had access to these opportunities. </div>
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And no, I'm not talking about race, either. This thinking goes <i>everywhere. </i>The result is that often, the suffering of the people around us go unnoticed. Of course, this isn't helped by the fact that there are people who cynically try and rip people off a la Thenardier from Les Mis. They do muddle things up way too much, and make people in general so cynical that they look over the people who are suffering. </div>
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But last year, I've come to realize just how easy it is to lose everything due to things completely beyond our control. We lost last year due to a variety of factors - not limited to breaches of various contracts. We lost HUGE. Which is part of the reason why it's taking me six months to come to terms with last year. </div>
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And yet, I feel so fortunate. </div>
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Because we had those resources to lose. More than that, we're still in a state where we can bounce back.</div>
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A lot of people in my country would starve if a few elderly people didn't get their monthly state pensions to $120 per month. (Actually less, depending on the exchange rate.) </div>
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There aren't enough jobs for the untrained. There aren't jobs for the school leavers. There aren't enough resources for most people to bounce back after a bad year. </div>
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And that worries me. Because I've seen how fast and how far I fell this year alone. I've had a mere taste of the misery that cause, and I know that people are experiencing year after year of this. </div>
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Last year truly has opened my eyes to the suffering of others, because I could so easily have ended up in the same place, if not for God's grace. </div>
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The problem is...I don't know how to help anyone else. </div>
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Not yet, anyway. I'm working on it.</div>
Misha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-39865063511222321722015-05-25T20:34:00.000+02:002015-05-25T20:34:26.421+02:00A Preview of My BlanketHey all!<br />
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So Sandy insisted that I pack out the squares I've crocheted so people can get an idea of what it'll look like.<br />
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Here they are.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSyaBejzCLyy912Cfsvaou6AgLW0K7ckMraHcQMFD1Ub1lIPGrVZYGdIV1Z0QCGh95RaFljGH9i37sJ_wFoJfBD8SJ0S76ktuTKLVFVm0ykf354rXWFyqLDlkVCK7KM8gMev3KHlc0Waos/s1600/DSCN2995.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSyaBejzCLyy912Cfsvaou6AgLW0K7ckMraHcQMFD1Ub1lIPGrVZYGdIV1Z0QCGh95RaFljGH9i37sJ_wFoJfBD8SJ0S76ktuTKLVFVm0ykf354rXWFyqLDlkVCK7KM8gMev3KHlc0Waos/s320/DSCN2995.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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It's a bit monotonous still with too many pinks and oranges, but I still have MANY squares left to do. The idea is that I'm going to work the squares tightly together, so there won't really be a back-ground color.<br />
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This is how many I have done, but I want the blanket to touch the floor on both sides of the double bed.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4wQUTAeHk2Hb3vUGJOJ4zHOqkCDCknSIgZPxKny0k-zIBQPK3KhMqlM21SmsWfLPHz-utB0ZQexVln7tBn8x1HWGTBczbOgbnSa1daImoudrL9mxssQEZ_4wQqIf02PzGGrUbsBY2mcIY/s1600/DSCN2996.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4wQUTAeHk2Hb3vUGJOJ4zHOqkCDCknSIgZPxKny0k-zIBQPK3KhMqlM21SmsWfLPHz-utB0ZQexVln7tBn8x1HWGTBczbOgbnSa1daImoudrL9mxssQEZ_4wQqIf02PzGGrUbsBY2mcIY/s320/DSCN2996.JPG" width="240" /></a></div>
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I just really like the flower motif on them and interestingly enough, they're quite easy to make. And since I'm working along a vaguely autumn theme here, I get to go through quite a bit of left-over wool from my mother and grandmother's projects.<br />
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Thoughts? Color suggestions?Misha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7312704287427589698.post-37907395010807117152015-05-22T16:34:00.000+02:002015-05-22T16:34:17.030+02:00Today I realized I needed to scale backI’m usually quite good at juggling a lot of different things, but sometimes as I juggle, I come to the sudden realization that I have too many balls in the air.<br />
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And on that realization, I have to systematically start decreasing them, or else everything starts crashing down around me.<br />
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That’s where I am at the moment. At the beginning of the month, I thought that setting the July 31 date would be more than enough time to do the final preparations for publishing. It wasn’t (and still isn’t) like I have a lot of editing rounds left or anything like that.<br />
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But this month is almost done and I’m still not feeling like I’m getting to the things I need to get to while still doing everything else.<br />
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Which means that I’ve decided to cut back. At the moment, my priorities are my business and my writing career. Anything else that puts a fixed obligation or deadline on me has to go. Anything else that doesn’t put a fixed obligation or deadline on me has to be evaluated and put into a priority list.<br />
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Which means that today, I’ve written two resignation letters and in the past week, I’ve been thinking about what I want my social networking to do for me.<br />
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The general idea here is that I want to work smarter while making more of an impact. So far, it does seem to be working.<br />
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In the meantime, though, I’m trying not to feel bad about the things I’ve had to quit. I don’t like quitting things I enjoyed. But sometimes, it just has to be done in order to further my ambitions.<br />
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And that’s okay.<br />
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What do you do when you feel like you’ve got too much going on at one time?Misha Gerrickhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06364173848456424521noreply@blogger.com5