Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Things I've discovered...

Every day is an unopened clam waiting for its tightly-clenched shell to be pried open by life's razor-sharp peculiarities. Now there's a cheesy line if I ever wrote one! Seriously, though, I've had my ups and downs lately--and don't we all at times?--and I long to shake them off. Writing is one sure way to help me out of a funk. That and much prayer. How about you? What do you do to swat away the swirl of fleas that stinky times can produce?

Like when:
--you find out that your camera was stolen from your car
--you are criticized
--you lost something important
--your waistband's beginning to tighten ;)

Thankfully it's not all bad. My friend and fellow ACFW member, Becca, just sent me some tickets to a Chris Tomlin concert. Woo-hoo, good timing, Becca!

And then there's the dark chocolate Altoids I just discovered at the checkout stand. Hey, sometimes it's the little things that help so much, you know? (Unfortunately my girls also discovered the curiously strong mints' medicinal qualities and now I have to go buy more. Not fair.)

Phew. I'm feeling better already. How about you?

8 comments:

Kathryn Cushman said...

Beside the obvious answers, "prayer and chocolate", looking forward to lunch with one of my bestest writer friends always perks me up :-)
Was your camera stolen in the car break-in? :-(

Julie Carobini said...

Ah, thanks ;*)
And yes, I hadn't realized anything was gone from the break in--until I went looking for it. ugh.

Chaos-Jamie said...

If very loud praise music doesn't do it for me, some very loud 80s music often does. And long walks alone. And sleep. Sleep would definitely improve my mood. Oh, and a book contract. That would also be nice. Of course, I'd have to send out the proposal again because all the rejections are in. Can't hope for a contract when there's no one out there considering. Of course having someone considering opens me up for rejection. Which could put me in a funk. ;D

Someone's had too much caffeine.

Sorry you've had a crummy time of it.

squiresj said...

Recovering in a wheelchair already 6 weeks and learning I could not due what all I thought I would be able to do has been the worst funk I've had. Yet God prepared me ahead of time by reading two books - one by Beth Moore - "Get Out of that Pit" and one by Jennifer Rothchild - Lessons I learned in the dark - she lost her eyesight at 15. So it makes all the small things not matter as much anymore. I would just like to walk out to my car, to the bathroom, drive to store, etc. If that wasn't enough I had a scare of breast cancer while in wheelchair and dealing with surgery and all. Nothing like getting home from hospital and getting that news on the same day. Thank God with prayer from many authors I've met and those at church, the masses were benign. I found while dealing with all this I went to an Author's page who has prayer requests and on the days I was down, I would pray for and encourage those people and thus forget my discouragement.

Julie Carobini said...

Jamie--I think loud 80s music might make it worse, lol. But I'm thinking of heading out on that long walk any minute now--such a good idea.

And Squiresj I'm so sorry that your recovery has been slower than you'd hoped. Once, after surgery, I attempted to ride my bike, you know, just to show that I was whole again. I had to stay in bed for a week after that!!! All in God's timing, yes? I've already begun praying for you! Thanks for writing.

Rebecca LuElla Miller said...

"Funk" must be in the SoCal air. I should go grocery shopping, should clean the bathroom, should finish that editing job, should ... you get the idea.

So what I'll do is write. Put on my favorite writing music (sound track of The Mission), light a miniature Aladdin's lamp (candles work too), and write.

Changing the subject, did you blog about your teaching at the Santa Barbara writers conference, and I missed it?

Becky

Anonymous said...

Vader kisses always cheer me up. I wish I could bottle a few up for you. They always make me smile!!! (He doesn't lick, it's Eskimo kisses!)

Georgiana Daniels said...

Aw man! I'm sorry to hear that happened--it's awful! I don't want to admit it, but when I have a funk, I tend to eat something really bad and satisfying. Eek!