tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-34024119233892587192024-02-02T09:57:02.846-05:00B. Snow Procrastinates(but is getting closer to being a grown-up all the time)B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.comBlogger119125truetag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-40329201901483057152018-10-21T11:20:00.000-04:002018-10-21T11:20:56.580-04:00Drag queens don't suffer from L'esprit d'escalier<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/L%27esprit_de_l%27escalier" target="_blank">L'esprit d'escalier</a> is that thing when you think of the perfect sharp, clever, cutting response too late to use it. I've never seen a drag queen be late with a perfect sharp, clever, cutting response.<br />
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At a party last night, I was too stunned and disgusted to come up with a good response to a co-worker who said, "Trump's really getting stuff done!" After fuming about it for most of my waking hours between then and now, I decided to have Angie, my drag queen character, respond. She'd do it better than I could, anyway.<br />
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"'Trump is really getting stuff done'? No, no, everybody, no booing. That gentleman at the bar is absolutely correct. Let's look at some of the stuff 'President' Trump has gotten done. He's encouraged white supremacists to remain silent no longer! He's given <i>desperately</i>-needed tax breaks to the richest one percent of the country! And he's made it legal to oppress immigrants again! We've been wanting to do that for a friggin' century, am I right? Hey, on an entirely unrelated topic, quick show of hands: who here is one hundred percent Native American? Come on, don't be shy, I won't ask you to whip out your totem pole.....no one? Really? Well, in that case, Trump can kiss my padded ass and get on a boat back to Germany, where <i>his </i>family immigrated from. But enough about our collective hemorrhoid. Maestro, if you would be so kind as to cue up the next song? Thank you."<br />
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(sweeping curtsy to the applauding audience)<br />
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I can't use this scene in the book because it would cement the story in our repugnant present, whereas I'm hoping the story will be somewhat timeless (although I've already had to change a line about the ability to get married -- yes, this story has been in the works since before 2015). But I had to get it out of me, and Angie took off with it.<br />
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<br />B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-43525340669024663542018-05-01T01:08:00.003-04:002018-05-01T01:08:54.089-04:00My Bullet Journal presentation from the 2017 Moonlight & Magnolias -- last part, for reals this timeHi, all, life has been exciting because the foster kittens have been coming out to play more and more for the past couple of weeks. Everything else in existence really pales in comparison to four-week old kittens. :)<br />
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But anyway, here is the last part of my bullet journal presentation.<br />
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Anyone else have this problem while trying to write?<br />
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Someone said that when cats lie on your work, they're trying to get you to relax. I'm sure that's it.<br />
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I hope these posts have been helpful. And now I get to cross something off my must-do list! :)<br />
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<br />B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-70078247773093934452018-04-08T15:16:00.002-04:002018-04-08T15:22:15.289-04:00Making a back pocket for your Bullet Journal<br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Extra post that was not part of my Bullet Journal presentation. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Here's how to make a
back pocket for your journal if it doesn't come with one already, i.e. if you're using a composition notebook, a book-style journal, or pretty much anything that's not a <a href="https://www.leuchtturm1917.us/notebooks/" target="_blank">Leuchtturm</a> or <a href="https://store.bulletjournal.com/" target="_blank">official Bullet Journal notebook</a>. </span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">You'll need
one piece of letter-size paper and glue. Scissors optional. The pocket will
last longer if the paper is a little thicker than regular printer paper.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">I got this awesome journal at a <a href="https://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/" target="_blank">Dreamspinner Press</a> authors workshop. As you can see, it came with a pen loop, which I highly recommend. </span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM8H1qzmSi6lrM9GtcnEviiSYibo3qrrpxrEtfsMONYgE1KR_KxSJYrpHdfD_qaeU6aFJ-pUjpTsKkL7a_Z0KneO-P17EUZ0pPIO_hWLqu5lQk-uNpa66RRDPJX5cxEYjcJ8kCTul-aRI2/s1600/20180407_130449.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhM8H1qzmSi6lrM9GtcnEviiSYibo3qrrpxrEtfsMONYgE1KR_KxSJYrpHdfD_qaeU6aFJ-pUjpTsKkL7a_Z0KneO-P17EUZ0pPIO_hWLqu5lQk-uNpa66RRDPJX5cxEYjcJ8kCTul-aRI2/s320/20180407_130449.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cat paw not included</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">If you want a pen loop on your journal, do that before adding the back pocket. Cut a piece of elastic about 1.5" - 2" long, fold in half so the cut ends are together, and glue the cut ends to the back cover, leaving enough room in the loop for a pen. I recommend holding the glued ends onto the cover with a jumbo paperclip overnight until the glue is completely dry.</span><br />
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">On to the pocket!</span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizj-n9XneyuEcnZU3oDfDYkEVUrUxKmul9638d72-TnnjxXCGYjy7236jiNearQOOSbbbI5ZZTRoP8Y3qPEl_PDvnErr2MDaSZwOT9D54raV9M4RsPXkwR7oJFptb0VQIshAPLBppBshgn/s1600/BuJo+back+pocket+-+redacted.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1495" data-original-width="1600" height="299" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizj-n9XneyuEcnZU3oDfDYkEVUrUxKmul9638d72-TnnjxXCGYjy7236jiNearQOOSbbbI5ZZTRoP8Y3qPEl_PDvnErr2MDaSZwOT9D54raV9M4RsPXkwR7oJFptb0VQIshAPLBppBshgn/s320/BuJo+back+pocket+-+redacted.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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I used this paper for the pocket because it's fairly thick, has a pretty border, and I never remember to use it so it's been sitting around forever. I'm pretty sure it was part of a wedding present from a friend, and I've been married 21 years, so....yeah.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Decide how wide you want
your pocket by laying the paper against the back cover of the journal. Also decide how long (high) you want it, k</span><span style="font-family: inherit;">eeping in
mind that you'll lose about 1.5 inches of length (height) from folds at the top and bottom.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuhAyrR_DexoC9qbLCKALKvlSATo-ej03cAyxG8YU0YPwkiSamjOpjIxSiHRQGxmMoJrSyS3yyvDyhNsq4gtSmI-mxoKOVaty5hExBilHv6uOUO3vjfPk3hWjroYeqmorhFdk1wPboblyq/s1600/20180407_130520.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjuhAyrR_DexoC9qbLCKALKvlSATo-ej03cAyxG8YU0YPwkiSamjOpjIxSiHRQGxmMoJrSyS3yyvDyhNsq4gtSmI-mxoKOVaty5hExBilHv6uOUO3vjfPk3hWjroYeqmorhFdk1wPboblyq/s320/20180407_130520.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Turn paper 90 degrees for a larger pocket</td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">You'll want the left/open edge of the pocket to be pretty close to where the cover folds. Too far from the fold, and the items in the pocket will fall out every time you tip the journal. The binding/fold of the closed journal will keep the pocket closed (and the items inside) when you handle the journal.</span><br />
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Once you've decided how wide you want the pocket, make a fold.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPagw_lJ9SkxYhqcdRVZV09fFLE7R7OoLp6ZMOeO7GLU0fsN07OFk2TiEMztpDVfAGqdBz2inB_8zMPl8Z7i3PnWglQkR2XdH3JaFD9OFq-xzEvad4f0JEgFK5xfs3gm9GfTkBo-8FXf8Q/s1600/20180407_130645.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPagw_lJ9SkxYhqcdRVZV09fFLE7R7OoLp6ZMOeO7GLU0fsN07OFk2TiEMztpDVfAGqdBz2inB_8zMPl8Z7i3PnWglQkR2XdH3JaFD9OFq-xzEvad4f0JEgFK5xfs3gm9GfTkBo-8FXf8Q/s320/20180407_130645.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Handy Hint:<br />
Do your crafting in a room without cats unless you don't mind everything taking twice as long. </td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Then cut or tear the paper along the fold.<br />
<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDcKLVtCbF1uexlLlYET-VRILM5N09noiQ7kqIWNQy1F1t_Y_eW1tJHdUZwpnrw9323IQyFFAGaj8ewflnmyUjsdxGAqHP603kGJh4hDGq2H89GeeNDZCPQWcgR_BJntkc0YKK8GbM1ge/s1600/20180407_130738.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvDcKLVtCbF1uexlLlYET-VRILM5N09noiQ7kqIWNQy1F1t_Y_eW1tJHdUZwpnrw9323IQyFFAGaj8ewflnmyUjsdxGAqHP603kGJh4hDGq2H89GeeNDZCPQWcgR_BJntkc0YKK8GbM1ge/s320/20180407_130738.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Fold bottom and top edges inward about 3/8 of an inch (or less or more, depending on if your paper is patterned and how much of the pattern you want to see, or how big you want your pocket to be).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMq_Vlgn21KUwsatlmsL7vMCAuoCeyW4xRoGZx9_RYFISkuwD9IGRFe1oT48u7ODp0aeVKBCI28Oe9N8LSuEBZBbStRrD2WPbh4c6mrZBK0cEiZmH7pNK3H9MeaOGN6BGP1vyM-0oUZD-D/s1600/20180407_130821.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMq_Vlgn21KUwsatlmsL7vMCAuoCeyW4xRoGZx9_RYFISkuwD9IGRFe1oT48u7ODp0aeVKBCI28Oe9N8LSuEBZBbStRrD2WPbh4c6mrZBK0cEiZmH7pNK3H9MeaOGN6BGP1vyM-0oUZD-D/s320/20180407_130821.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Then make a new fold about 3/8 of an inch from the first fold, this time to the back of the page. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwj-H2vzsvfI9Qr6x2DVbxtRrIXnPRAhLDBjv4OTE6GIKFJE2xYNog1i7R0UGSASY92ztzfENJ0C5A38L3wkzYYdSFRnIcIcTTQagI4FgdLcCz5D2X1Sz_efEOu4U9zC5yW0DT0s65yKaS/s1600/20180407_130920.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiwj-H2vzsvfI9Qr6x2DVbxtRrIXnPRAhLDBjv4OTE6GIKFJE2xYNog1i7R0UGSASY92ztzfENJ0C5A38L3wkzYYdSFRnIcIcTTQagI4FgdLcCz5D2X1Sz_efEOu4U9zC5yW0DT0s65yKaS/s320/20180407_130920.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkW0WnzpIVUz8Ax4soHuC62sHgeevE1HK_OAac1WDTQsAj1NC9CduQUBSqirZQ07fOd8x0Yud1SwGIk-vswdXFFcEO55Xhp2rfKbwaX4XeZSDZVMvkqdINsbx6C302QYABfmeCsgrxnR8j/s1600/20180407_131017.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhkW0WnzpIVUz8Ax4soHuC62sHgeevE1HK_OAac1WDTQsAj1NC9CduQUBSqirZQ07fOd8x0Yud1SwGIk-vswdXFFcEO55Xhp2rfKbwaX4XeZSDZVMvkqdINsbx6C302QYABfmeCsgrxnR8j/s320/20180407_131017.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
In other words, in the opposite direction of the first fold, so you have a Z, not a C.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXiarBdHQAGZKPsiUhIJMaVBXaaQqd_OBOBiDY5ePkMK6pmakexOonk0L3HCB3GWoz8oWW8XJcMMf-FSMhyR_uaQ5VHs3E_V_efxRpHxCt9ajkzLuTHnhJUi_SesxzypQysITyT3Ob8LVz/s1600/20180407_130951.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXiarBdHQAGZKPsiUhIJMaVBXaaQqd_OBOBiDY5ePkMK6pmakexOonk0L3HCB3GWoz8oWW8XJcMMf-FSMhyR_uaQ5VHs3E_V_efxRpHxCt9ajkzLuTHnhJUi_SesxzypQysITyT3Ob8LVz/s320/20180407_130951.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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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/AVvXsEi6dZSqq1Q6NPBdicYf_Stf7nX7fRnuk0ppLvvO__DzuGk1qCgfPKbyWRfgH5Z-xh7S_tNGf32__Gc84rzuj94b_uwNKEDRsZ607_539jVAoXdQRiwJhTLwdANbLc0H74F7I0X0WMkOGGOk/s1600/20180407_131027.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6dZSqq1Q6NPBdicYf_Stf7nX7fRnuk0ppLvvO__DzuGk1qCgfPKbyWRfgH5Z-xh7S_tNGf32__Gc84rzuj94b_uwNKEDRsZ607_539jVAoXdQRiwJhTLwdANbLc0H74F7I0X0WMkOGGOk/s320/20180407_131027.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">cat tail not included</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZcDIh8zMrkpBAY6y6jeR5f_PZlnRfz099X_IvcflHFiVFkoPYk6CAcKvk07lzLt02nH9EECMItPBk5k0yLoRk2Lqqd6zEq04tIqN02kZjQw60h67zTewh3xbaPemWmOPL17J2Bz_5-YZ3/s1600/20180407_131035.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZcDIh8zMrkpBAY6y6jeR5f_PZlnRfz099X_IvcflHFiVFkoPYk6CAcKvk07lzLt02nH9EECMItPBk5k0yLoRk2Lqqd6zEq04tIqN02kZjQw60h67zTewh3xbaPemWmOPL17J2Bz_5-YZ3/s320/20180407_131035.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Note: it might be easier to do the folds in the opposite order I've listed them, but I already took the pictures, sorry. :P </div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Opposite order would be: fold top and bottom edges to the back, about one inch in from each edge. Then make new folds on top and bottom edges, about 3/8 of an inch in from each edge, but forward this time, to get the same Z folds you saw above.</div>
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<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
Check against the back cover of the journal to make sure the pocket the size you want, and change the folds if you want it to be smaller. I probably should have done this pocket using the paper lengthwise instead of widthwise, but I don't need a huge pocket, so it's big enough.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnQebvu-bD4W7Jwz8v0yjqkWBMi_TMk-hc4zwoNj6WsfyXYMn3K2KVaGXOrcunk_t4r5mvixbt255euv488yDpLxNuLPGtWeRDVlLhTEYP3P_yzCslqm6Pgq6rz0aC7IdH91M9RnHOqKy/s1600/20180407_131304.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHnQebvu-bD4W7Jwz8v0yjqkWBMi_TMk-hc4zwoNj6WsfyXYMn3K2KVaGXOrcunk_t4r5mvixbt255euv488yDpLxNuLPGtWeRDVlLhTEYP3P_yzCslqm6Pgq6rz0aC7IdH91M9RnHOqKy/s320/20180407_131304.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Crease all folds. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Dot
some glue on the back side of the paper, all along the top, bottom, and right edges.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL_ntrIr3ZWAM1SEk20mj218uK-ljixpcsuFajKxIOsvIwidyBPOPNubQmFyE6KbbRSFgvn8lXHFeto6iM3dABolS7YPy5j8W37u-qjb0_3x_S7maBL0BU8BD9K4wWddsrVaQ5x4XUPV4D/s1600/20180407_131539.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhL_ntrIr3ZWAM1SEk20mj218uK-ljixpcsuFajKxIOsvIwidyBPOPNubQmFyE6KbbRSFgvn8lXHFeto6iM3dABolS7YPy5j8W37u-qjb0_3x_S7maBL0BU8BD9K4wWddsrVaQ5x4XUPV4D/s320/20180407_131539.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Press to the back inside cover of the journal. </span>Then dot some glue inside the folds at the top and bottom edges, 3/4 of the way from the right side to the left, so the pocket will open a bit on the left side at the top and bottom.</div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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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/AVvXsEh5ymck7KBGzjH-mZ1h8FCc138jhTy0O6A3x7taaMDiXKWe9cauIFnDOKspQowVQa0jqH7H1JoDxJi2XzZDEW6Ntze00klOU1mS7zZA97b25B6Nce6u6FFCWjm5t39-HQdqUTmJm6ve6EQ5/s1600/20180407_131828.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh5ymck7KBGzjH-mZ1h8FCc138jhTy0O6A3x7taaMDiXKWe9cauIFnDOKspQowVQa0jqH7H1JoDxJi2XzZDEW6Ntze00klOU1mS7zZA97b25B6Nce6u6FFCWjm5t39-HQdqUTmJm6ve6EQ5/s320/20180407_131828.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I made a mistake with the gluing and used too much glue, so it soaked through and got wrinkly.<br />
Yours won't look like this.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
Leave the left/open side of the pocket (next to the journal binding) unglued. You can put a piece of paper in there to make sure the pocket stays open in case you got a bit wild with the glue. It can happen.<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Hs84JSE3151aZxM1hMiQVAHJOjRvyf72fzIfFR-4r1Iq0pWdnRNBlaKzpOpAHS2iicdWaju3OaroOQMUbjuKucQ9e9De0pjJUkiKJeV1S97MZS4YpXHVzy2m3LRhNr2VFR-7bSZX9wEE/s1600/20180407_131949.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6Hs84JSE3151aZxM1hMiQVAHJOjRvyf72fzIfFR-4r1Iq0pWdnRNBlaKzpOpAHS2iicdWaju3OaroOQMUbjuKucQ9e9De0pjJUkiKJeV1S97MZS4YpXHVzy2m3LRhNr2VFR-7bSZX9wEE/s320/20180407_131949.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy2u-froeYiK3PDW2Ml8g12zDAfk-FYSmUsWWXo7hx_krEuSh9f5mTnZR5c_qLLdyzrAHUze0dnkFx12a8LZPJ9VhX5wIS7kaoIn3vIzaqapuVv-wLz7jm1ZipO4dt_x6nOwsMLkg3BVRO/s1600/20180407_131932.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgy2u-froeYiK3PDW2Ml8g12zDAfk-FYSmUsWWXo7hx_krEuSh9f5mTnZR5c_qLLdyzrAHUze0dnkFx12a8LZPJ9VhX5wIS7kaoIn3vIzaqapuVv-wLz7jm1ZipO4dt_x6nOwsMLkg3BVRO/s320/20180407_131932.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">Let the glue dry for a few hours or overnight. </span>Et voila, journal pocket!<br />
<br /></div>
<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/AVvXsEhbiOiCpeK3bzAax3bvAfQXwPs7g9Q-UL1xeim0m__mtgdijS-HMwdosz20ZCLgijIReX1gohpJEjlSYvPyibd4r7-bZe7i_jAcaOYVavKfmt0_iJzpdNJXrC2xE2Xaa_2SS7KTCd1LTw84/s1600/20180408_125919.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhbiOiCpeK3bzAax3bvAfQXwPs7g9Q-UL1xeim0m__mtgdijS-HMwdosz20ZCLgijIReX1gohpJEjlSYvPyibd4r7-bZe7i_jAcaOYVavKfmt0_iJzpdNJXrC2xE2Xaa_2SS7KTCd1LTw84/s320/20180408_125919.jpg" width="240" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cat not included</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="line-height: normal; margin-bottom: .0001pt; margin-bottom: 0in;">
<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Good luck with your pen loops and journal pockets. Next post (and the last post of my Bullet Journal presentation): the only real excuse for not using your Bullet Journal.</span></div>
<br />B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-52499361879266498182018-04-08T11:40:00.001-04:002018-04-08T15:00:58.235-04:00My Bullet Journal presentation from the 2017 Moonlight & Magnolias -- part 7Hi, all, apologies for taking so long to get to this last post in the series. <a href="http://www.damonsuede.com/" target="_blank">Damon Suede</a> was talking about writing every day when he said this, but it's true for almost anything:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
"Momentum is hard won and easily lost....Writing crap is
better than no writing at all."</blockquote>
I lost the momentum of these blog posts AND my BuJo due to real-life obligations, and now I want to get back into both, but it's really harrrrrd!!<br />
<br />
I need to finish these posts so they'll be done and I can call it complete (you have no idea how hard finishing things is for me -- why is it so much more fun to start things than to finish them?).<br />
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The original "'neighbors" chart in my old journal needs updating, and now that our foster cat has had her kittens, I need to plan my grand extravaganza Kitten Tea Party, which, due to the state of our house, requires more planning than just which kind of sandwiches to serve. I'll work it all out in my BuJo, which means I need to work on it more, which reminds me that I need to finish these posts. :D<br />
<br />
But enough about me, on to the nearly last part of these posts! (This post was getting too long, so I decided to split it, and then remembered I still need to post the very last part of my presentation, which will be the really last part of the presentation and these posts.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRqGtXTcS2GuDM31IIPqZ_KXibWURVHdy-ikjB5J21GewoMryZuzZmm9kBSrwwtMa7XtguuWJnn-5LWMf-hexxgepYNc7P8eUUXpVf3xMoN8J8TX3qTuJ1mB1qu2M5slkaP5jzmHCfwXJE/s1600/BuJo+Outline+7-cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgRqGtXTcS2GuDM31IIPqZ_KXibWURVHdy-ikjB5J21GewoMryZuzZmm9kBSrwwtMa7XtguuWJnn-5LWMf-hexxgepYNc7P8eUUXpVf3xMoN8J8TX3qTuJ1mB1qu2M5slkaP5jzmHCfwXJE/s400/BuJo+Outline+7-cropped.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Some tips that might be helpful:<br />
<ul>
<li>Use a dark pen for the actual writing. It helps if you're "of a certain age" like I am, or if you want to back up your journal by taking a photo of the pages or scanning them. </li>
<li>Write legibly. Slow down. Write with intention. Reflect. </li>
<li>Put your contact info in the front of the journal, and maybe a note about why it's important to you. But not that it's too important to you. Something that will encourage the finder to return it to you but not hold it for ransom.</li>
<li>Number 10-12 pages at a time. When I'm at the start of a journal, it's hard for me to write the numbers because the stack of pages are higher than the table, so here's my tip for that -- push the corner of the page up so you can rest your hand on the next page. (Yes, this is not at the beginning of the journal, but you get the idea, right?)<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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</li>
</ul>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">I just realized how weirdly I hold my pen.</td></tr>
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<ul>
<li>Do a year's worth of Future Log at front of the journal (so it's easy to flip to), starting with the next month. If you get to the end of the months and you're still on the same journal, put the next months at the back of the journal (so it's easy to flip to).</li>
<li>Goals -- list these on pages you'll revisit. Add a daily, weekly, or other regularly scheduled task to go look at those pages, otherwise you might forget like I do. Break down your goals into small, realistic pieces, and schedule them realistically. </li>
<li>Use colored pens/pencils for Habit Trackers or anything else you track. Color in boxes/spaces/designs as you reach goals or hit milestones -- it's a fun incentive to get something done, besides the feeling of accomplishment just from getting something done.</li>
</ul>
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<div>
Overall tips/things to keep in mind: </div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>If it isn't working, change it. Remember, the Bullet Journal is a highly CUSTOMIZABLE organization system, so customize it until it works for YOU.</li>
<li>Anything you need to brain dump -- make a page for it and index it.</li>
<li>Look at your BuJo before going to bed and before leaving the house in the morning -- you might have written down things you need to take with you.</li>
<li>It takes a little time to do each day, but remember -- intention. Thinking about what you're doing, what you've done, what you're going to do.</li>
<li>Get inspiration from other people's journals from time to time (but don't compare your journal to other people's). Sometimes you'll run across a genius idea that will solve a problem for you or help you understand something or just inspire you to do better with your own journaling or habits you want to cultivate.</li>
</ul>
</div>
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And please keep in mind this quote I read somewhere, maybe at <a href="http://www.bulletjournal.com/" target="_blank">the official Bullet Journal site</a>:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq" style="text-align: center;">
"The only wrong way to use a bullet journal is to not use it."</blockquote>
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These are the references I included in my presentation:<br />
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Start with the official site: <a href="http://bulletjournal.com/">bulletjournal.com</a><br />
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Google “Bullet Journal” plus these search terms for good articles/explanations:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>wtf buzzfeed</li>
<li>popsci</li>
<li>Hacks</li>
<li>frowl.org worst blog</li>
<li>life hacker</li>
<li>Busy Families</li>
</ul>
<br />
Sites for inspiration:<br />
<br />
<ul>
<li>Boho Berry</li>
<li>Page Flutter [good for writers]</li>
<li>Tiny Ray of Sunshine</li>
<li>Bullet Journal Addict<span style="white-space: pre;"> </span></li>
<li>Pinterest</li>
<li>Instagram</li>
</ul>
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In my next post, I'll show you how to make a back pocket for your journal if it doesn't have one already, and the last post will explain the only REAL excuse for not using your Bullet Journal.<br />
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In the comments, please let me know if you run across any other good sites. Happy Journaling and Happy Writing!</div>
B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-48146856704382353112018-02-12T21:15:00.001-05:002018-02-12T21:33:39.324-05:00My Bullet Journal presentation from the 2017 Moonlight & Magnolias -- part 6Sorry, all, I'm late posting this part because I've been crafting like crazy for a friend's wedding that's in TWO WEEKS!!!! And because I forgot to write it in my Bullet Journal. Oops!<br />
<br />
Anyway, moving on. :) This section of the presentation is about the beauty of the Bullet Journal -- literal and figurative.<br />
<br />
If you're not familiar with the literal beauty of Bullet Journals, check out pictures of Habit Trackers and Mood Mandalas and other fun, colorful things at Instagram and Pinterest. You can also get a lot of inspiration from YouTube -- videos of how to do different types of lettering, for example. I find taking a few more seconds to write out the date and day in a style different from my own handwriting can jog me out of an unthinking rut and make me more aware of the day that's coming up.<br />
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There are also tons of decorations out there you can play with -- washi tape, stickers, stencils, rubber stamps. I'm not going to link Etsy here because you should only go looking there if you have at least two hours of spare time. It. Is. Addictive. :D The literal beauty of bullet journals is never-ending.<br />
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For me, the figurative Beauty of the BuJo is the Migration. Remember back in part 1 of these posts, when I talked about how To-Do lists intimidate me? An unfinished task on a To-Do list either looms over me, squatting on the list, or it's there for so long that my eyes just stop seeing it completely and I forget about it.<br />
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In the last post, I explained that Migration is moving an unfinished task from the current day to the next day. For me, it makes the Daily Log a more dynamic version of a To-Do list, so even if the same task shows up again and again, it doesn't feel like it's squatting/looming, and because I write it again if I don't get it done, I don't stop seeing it, either.<br />
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"Isn't writing the same unfinished task over and over kind of a pain in the rear?" I hear you ask. The answer is, "Yes." And that's the point.<br />
<br />
Migration makes you think about WHY a task is on your list. Why it didn't get done that day, and how it will get done tomorrow.<br />
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If it's a small task, something that will take only a few minutes, and yet I've migrated it more than twice, I'll throw up my hands and tell myself, "Just do it!" Then it's done and I can put an X over the dot.<br />
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If it's a big task not getting done, it might be a Project. You may need to break it into smaller tasks.<br />
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If it's a task that you keep migrating, then you need to ask: do I really need to do it? If the answer is "No,", cross it out. Declutter your life.<br />
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If the answer is "Yes," so you need to migrate the task yet again, you need to think about WHY you keep putting it off.<br />
<br />
Migration is not just for getting things done (eventually), it's also to reflect on why you're doing what you're doing. Are the tasks you've set for yourself important? Are you making the best use of your time? Will this task enrich my life?<br />
<br />
Migration also makes you schedule tasks realistically. You can't do 50,000 things in one day. If you schedule 50,000 things on a day, you're setting yourself up for failure.<br />
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A migrated task is marked with a right-arrow. There's also a use for a left-arrow: scheduling. That's when you can't get to a task on that day, and you know you won't get to it on the next day, so instead of Migrating it to the next day, you Schedule it for a future date in your Monthly Log or even your Future Log.<br />
<br />
On one hand, Scheduling keeps your task "active". You won't lose it; you'll get to it someday.<br />
<br />
On the other hand, for procrastinators like me, Scheduling means casting a task into the nebulous future instead of getting it done in the concrete present. It's part of the "schedule tasks realistically" idea. If you can't get something done on that day or in the next few days, it might be better to leave it on your Monthly or Future Log. It's okay to not get everything done at once. It would be unrealistic to expect to get everything done at once.<br />
<br />
One of the biggest BuJo fails I had was with my Habit Trackers. I was calling them "Dailies" because it was a list of everything I wanted to do every day. ("Habit Trackers" are more about good habits you want to cultivate by doing certain tasks every day.) I had a Dailies list that took up an entire page. There were about 25 items on it, and day after day, I failed to get most of them done. I finally went through and took a guess at the number of minutes each task would take. Turns out I'd set myself tasks that would take, in total, about four hours every day to complete, and that wasn't including things like feeding and playing with the cats or spending some time with the spousal unit.<br />
<br />
If I were a more disciplined person, maybe I could fit those four hours of tasks into my day, but I like having some free time, some down time. By not being realistic about what I would--and would--do, I set myself up for failure.<br />
<br />
Now my Habit Trackers are the bare minimum, things I REALLY want to get into the habit of doing, things I know would make my life better, like getting to bed at a reasonable time, getting exercise, remembering to take my vitamins, etc. I don't always get them done, but getting to color in a pretty chart is a small incentive. :)<br />
<br />
In the past few blogs, you've learned how to start your Bullet Journals with your Index and Future Log. You've created a Monthly Log for the current month, and I hope you're keeping up with Daily Logs. You now know how to migrate tasks you didn't get done, and you know about crossing off tasks if they're really not necessary/important/improving your life in some way.<br />
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In the next post, which will be the last post in this series, I'll give you a few tips and other ideas to keep in mind, and hopefully post some pictures so it will be more interesting than this one. :)<br />
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<br />
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<br />B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-68904459789032025622018-02-05T10:59:00.000-05:002018-02-05T11:04:32.463-05:00My Bullet Journal presentation from the 2017 Moonlight & Magnolias -- part 5The Basics of the BuJo, continued, because I droned on too long about notebooks in the last post.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn4LryqCsqPq91W1NQUZ5SDKQQYLgTV38wPzSSZjnprDKkb-RGLONL0eAp9nAwxwGurlxbGt-y6I_Jg79hRoQvD3FsGdra5RtxU6CUXgzk_lRg0qk8DmfP_e3w-yFvcaw2PcTduaecnwkt/s1600/BuJo+Outline+4-cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn4LryqCsqPq91W1NQUZ5SDKQQYLgTV38wPzSSZjnprDKkb-RGLONL0eAp9nAwxwGurlxbGt-y6I_Jg79hRoQvD3FsGdra5RtxU6CUXgzk_lRg0qk8DmfP_e3w-yFvcaw2PcTduaecnwkt/s400/BuJo+Outline+4-cropped.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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Last post we started our journals by labelling the first two pages as the Index, then taking the next few pages for the Future Log (six months or longer), then we started a Monthly Log for February. We also touched briefly on Daily Logs.<br />
<br />
Daily Logs are the heart of the BuJo. I mentioned Tasks (dot), Notes (dash), and Events (circle). What I didn't get to was Rapid Logging.<br />
<br />
Rapid Logging just means writing short sentences. Ideally, what you write for each Task, Note, or Event will fit on a line. Ryder, the creator of the Bullet Journal, has a interesting idea behind Rapid Logging: besides getting your thoughts down quickly, each rapid-logged line has the same emotional weight.<br />
<br />
So on a single day, you might have "grocery shop", which is a task, "Austin moon towers" which is a note about something interesting you heard about, and "signed divorce papers", which is an event. Each of those items should fit on one line as you Rapid Log them.<br />
<br />
You probably have some feelings about the "signed divorce papers" event. Instead of fitting it all on that line, go ahead and find a blank space in your journal to write out your feelings about signing divorce papers. Or about Austin moon towers. Or even about grocery shopping. Most of us probably don't have very strong feelings about grocery shopping, but for someone who used to be on food stamps, each trip to the grocery store might be a sort of triumph or a reminder of how far they've come.<br />
<br />
A section of writing that's longer than a rapid-logged line is called a Narrative.<br />
<br />
When I first started a BuJo, I thought I had to put the narrative on a separate page, but then I saw an example online where the person just put a line right on that day's Daily Log, dividing the Narrative from the rest of the Daily Log, and another line at the end of the Narrative, so she could pick back up with the Daily Log. It made a lot of sense and was even kind of artistic. Mine are not artistic, but I still like the idea, so now I just slap my Narratives down right in the daily log, letting it go onto the next page if necessary (I just note at the top of the page that the day is continuing).<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/AVvXsEgM_fBJkTtFxTdXJBnwhDa_AYIeH7Z_qeXzQRooh1q9YW0KhENn-iWRrflgr7medh9p6S1IdH-PrOMW9jhKQIdolHd9CjmT_uSHNt5YYdcsXFb2yES2w9WJaHMRy33111EhqiDbMfusjX3K/s1600/20180202_210439.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgM_fBJkTtFxTdXJBnwhDa_AYIeH7Z_qeXzQRooh1q9YW0KhENn-iWRrflgr7medh9p6S1IdH-PrOMW9jhKQIdolHd9CjmT_uSHNt5YYdcsXFb2yES2w9WJaHMRy33111EhqiDbMfusjX3K/s320/20180202_210439.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A line with Ns, marking the end of a Narrative section in a Daily Log</td></tr>
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Of course, you can always put a Narrative on a separate page, or put all Narratives in a group. Customize!<br />
<br />
To mark Narratives, I use an N as a Signifier, which is a mark that helps a particular task/note/event stand out on the page.<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/AVvXsEgT4OeCuyA0zdgKV3AzH7x-4zdx_nfEoPb1SvYj4hmS7DSS_-b1DE8I0R1UWK-upfNOicu5pfnkqiyemfR8RIISXS0ki3n9rkK2L9ZXjj0fcENtcT20kgj6oeo2rbOWFAkYfmIVhyphenhyphennDBg2t/s1600/20180202_210634.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgT4OeCuyA0zdgKV3AzH7x-4zdx_nfEoPb1SvYj4hmS7DSS_-b1DE8I0R1UWK-upfNOicu5pfnkqiyemfR8RIISXS0ki3n9rkK2L9ZXjj0fcENtcT20kgj6oeo2rbOWFAkYfmIVhyphenhyphennDBg2t/s320/20180202_210634.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My Narrative about the eclipse</td></tr>
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When I write about our cats, I use a C. </div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeWZiyOrAiLE7kv9jA0YM7ej9-qTMJtoDASDIwSOssNsKJygRemFDVSLB20vmLjdVc0BWCJTV7Fi2KNfCwkRFYjW-glxVLfOPWwHEdKK-gqVgxbEAOWR6GvoTbgQh9mywi8yvsR7IRKx48/s1600/20180202_211104.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjeWZiyOrAiLE7kv9jA0YM7ej9-qTMJtoDASDIwSOssNsKJygRemFDVSLB20vmLjdVc0BWCJTV7Fi2KNfCwkRFYjW-glxVLfOPWwHEdKK-gqVgxbEAOWR6GvoTbgQh9mywi8yvsR7IRKx48/s320/20180202_211104.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cs next to Cat events/tasks/notes, and joined-up Cs for a Narrative about cats</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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I note Narratives and Cat Narratives in the Index, and then when I flip to the page later, I can easily find the Narrative by looking for the Signifier, usually on the left side of the page. Check out the <a href="http://bulletjournal.com/get-started/" target="_blank">official Bullet Journal site for examples of Signifiers</a>.<br />
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Now you know how to Rapid Log your Tasks, Notes, and Events, and how/where to put your Narratives when you feel the need to write more than just a quick rapid-logged line.<br />
<br />
The two other main BuJo basics are Migration and Collections.<br />
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Migration is moving a task from one day to the next day. It's used when you don't get a task done on the day it was scheduled. You write the task on the next day's Log, then you mark the task on today's log with a right-arrow instead of an X, indicating that the task has been migrated instead of completed. There's a purpose to migration, which I'll talk about in the next blog post.<br />
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Collections are to literally collect all the random stuff from your Daily Logs. I don't really use Collections because when I first started my BuJo, I didn't understand them. I tend to rely on my index to find grouped items, because I'll have a line for them and list the page numbers they show up on, like Cats, Knitting, and English Country Dance.<br />
<br />
But when I was preparing to give this presentation last fall, I read a good blog post at the official Bullet Journal site, and now I understand how Collections are supposed to work: you collect information in specific categories by writing that information on pages labeled for those categories. For example, I could go through and put all my Cat information on a page labelled "Cats". Then I could glance at that page and find the names of all the foster cats/kittens we've had, find out when I last gave our cats Revolution, see how much the last Chewy order was. The way I find that information now is to look at my Cats index line, go to the pages I wrote Cat stuff, and look for the "C" signifier on the page. It takes more time than if I had a single Collections page for "Cats Revolutioned", for example. (Dang it! That reminds me, I need to Revolution the outside cat!)<br />
<br />
The pros of Collections are having all that info in one place. The cons are having to <i>write</i> all that information in one place. I can find information fairly quickly by keeping my index up to date, which doesn't always happen. Anyway, you might try both collecting and indexing, and seeing which method works best for you. It might end up being a combination of the two, with some categories suiting Collections better than others.<br />
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One more thing to wrap up BuJo Basics: some BuJo hacks for writing.<br />
<br />
I use a W as a signifier for Writing. So if I have a story idea or get some craft or publishing info to look up later, or someone recommends a book, I mark those notes with a W. I have an Index line for Writing, so every time I mark something with a W, I index it. I also have an index line for my WIP(s), which I can cross-reference in the index with the W signifiers if I want.<br />
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This next point is not so much a hack as a suggestion. As writers, we should take some time every day to pay attention to things that happen to us or to other people. We should write a few lines of Narrative in our Bullet Journals, because after all, they are journals.<br />
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As <i>romance</i> writers, we should especially be paying attention to feelings. We should write a few lines about how certain tasks, thoughts, or events make us feel, because romance is all about the feels.<br />
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Let me know if I've thoroughly confused you yet. Next post will be next Sunday, because I got a lot of stuff to do this week. :) Happy journaling!<br />
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B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-62468194989525703202018-01-31T20:45:00.000-05:002018-01-31T20:45:03.119-05:00My Bullet Journal presentation from the 2017 Moonlight & Magnolias -- part 4Welcome back to my Bullet Journal Presentation! Today we're going to get into the Basics of the BuJo.<br />
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The only real requirements to start a Bullet Journal are: a notebook and a pen.<br />
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A six-inch ruler is nice to have but not necessary.<br />
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Notebooks: I used a Composition book for my first journal.<br />
<ul>
<li>Pros: they're cheap, which is good if you're not sure you'll continue with the system and don't want to spend a lot of money on something you'll give up on after a week. (However, the system is so customizable, I can't imagine anyone giving up after a week. If it's not working, just change it!)</li>
<li>Cons: really too big to carry around easily, and ink can bleed through the paper. </li>
<li>Use if: you carry a backpack instead of a small purse, and if you're going to write with a ballpoint pen instead of a felt-tip or any kind of fancy ink pen.</li>
</ul>
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The ideal/recommended notebook for Bullet Journaling is the actual <a href="https://store.bulletjournal.com/" target="_blank">Bullet Journal notebook</a>. A lot of people also use a <a href="https://www.leuchtturm1917.us/notebooks/" target="_blank">Leuchtturm 1917 notebook</a>. Both of these notebooks are about 5"x8", use a dot grid instead of lines (ruled), and have nice thick paper that ink won't bleed through.<br />
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They're also both pretty expensive, which is why I didn't start out with one of them. Since I haven't used them, I can only guess at the Pros and Cons, but I'll take a shot.<br />
<ul>
<li>possible Pros: small enough to carry in a purse, dot-grid which is said to be more flexible for writing, drawing, charts, graphs, etc. than ruled (lined) paper, thick paper that ink won't bleed through, pocket in the back.</li>
<li>possible Cons: bloody expensive for a damn notebook, no matter how fabulous it is. </li>
<li>possibly good to use if: you carry a purse instead of a backpack, will use a variety of pens.</li>
</ul>
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Yoobi (sold at Target) makes a 5"x8" notebook for about $6, but I think it's ruled, not dot-grid. That would have been my next step if I hadn't found <a href="https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B077Y89MP9" target="_blank">some nice little dot-grid notebooks on sale for $11</a>. I haven't used them yet, because I have another Dreamspinner Authors Workshop journal and a moleskine journal to use up first. The rules of First In, First Out are rigid and unyielding. :)<br />
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For pens, I got a set of colored pens with really sharp points that make my writing thin and sometimes hard to read in the scans. I use those mostly to color in my Habit Tracker (more on that in a later post). The pen I'm using now is a Pentel R.S.V.P. ballpoint pen, black, medium point (1.0 mm). It makes nice thick lines that my elderly eyes can see better. I got a five-pack at Target or possibly a grocery store.<br />
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Feel free to use the comments section to suggest notebooks and/or pens that you like.</div>
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But let's get back to the Basics of the BuJo. They are your Index, Future Log, Monthly Log, Daily Log, and Collections. The Monthly Log pages will include a list of Must Do-s. The Daily Log will have tasks, notes, events, and narrative. Of course you can have all kinds of other stuff -- remember, highly customizable -- but those are the basics. You don't ever need to do more than those, and you can always do less because, say it with me: highly customizable. :D</div>
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The first thing to write, maybe on the inside cover, is your email or phone number so the notebook can be returned to you if you lose it. Hopefully that will never happen, but that's why some people (myself included) back up their journals by scanning them.</div>
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The next thing to do is set up your Index, which is where you will record the page number of everything you write in the BuJo. So simple, and yet so helpful to be able to find everything quickly.</div>
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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/AVvXsEgAS3SAoEIS78Vy-o6qwyj56N1ZBwH_H4GESZTfqYHrHrGyP-M0Y-1ceZkABiKmhn599yUrOWwFXjZGc7uSltADe1uBppSRLNQsK2-MkY7nTreDkJl3H53N9fiPxFJ7CFEi0b1H8eD4EnOv/s1600/DSCF5221+%25282%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1095" data-original-width="1600" height="273" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAS3SAoEIS78Vy-o6qwyj56N1ZBwH_H4GESZTfqYHrHrGyP-M0Y-1ceZkABiKmhn599yUrOWwFXjZGc7uSltADe1uBppSRLNQsK2-MkY7nTreDkJl3H53N9fiPxFJ7CFEi0b1H8eD4EnOv/s400/DSCF5221+%25282%2529.JPG" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">you don't have to index your index like I did here</td></tr>
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Generally, two pages are enough for the index.<br />
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Go ahead and number the first ten pages or so, including the index pages. Just start from 1, in the bottom corner of the page, and go up to ten, number both sides of the page (so the first five pages will get you to 10). Try to make the page numbers as legible as possible to help with indexing and finding information later.<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/AVvXsEhTDnnGSTb5qsm-pKrDwhFXyr6utuTSs7TCaiMC_O8DB82-CZe9v_RlvSCb-AYKLp15XoLWxVdDN4nit5vsHOpea-OZwADyPxScbiZr_fNIPwE7sO-G3W_3SxSSnbOXXdEPUg2ZdyAMpFQV/s1600/BuJo+page+numbers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1400" data-original-width="1600" height="279" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTDnnGSTb5qsm-pKrDwhFXyr6utuTSs7TCaiMC_O8DB82-CZe9v_RlvSCb-AYKLp15XoLWxVdDN4nit5vsHOpea-OZwADyPxScbiZr_fNIPwE7sO-G3W_3SxSSnbOXXdEPUg2ZdyAMpFQV/s320/BuJo+page+numbers.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">example of page numbers</td></tr>
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The next thing is to set up your Future Log. The <a href="http://www.bulletjournal.com/" target="_blank">official BuJo site</a> has you set up six months' worth of space, but I've found setting up entire year is more useful for me.<br />
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To set up a Future Log, you divide each of the next few pages into thirds, and write the upcoming month names on each section. Start with the following month, not the current month, since the current month will go on your Monthly Log page. So for six months, you'd use two pages. For a year, you'd use four pages. You can also make each Future Log month more than one third of a page -- February is the shortest month and yet somehow my Future Log February is completely jammed.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2obvawYXXwYt6VFPqdiaVpKMP02zupc2l4DViC-9K-bC49mKCCSok1bF_jJovh7Ne5P6G1SNotdkVb2aGUNOGMSG6edD5FupCaByutXReWl4poMGMlVPV7Qok-e725sJHP9MGiuvn6C7o/s1600/Future+Log+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2obvawYXXwYt6VFPqdiaVpKMP02zupc2l4DViC-9K-bC49mKCCSok1bF_jJovh7Ne5P6G1SNotdkVb2aGUNOGMSG6edD5FupCaByutXReWl4poMGMlVPV7Qok-e725sJHP9MGiuvn6C7o/s400/Future+Log+pic.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See Feb. in bottom right corner of pic, completely jammed</td></tr>
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Into these Future Log months you will put upcoming things you know about now, and you'll add new ones as they come up. For example: deadlines, trips, birthdays, theater tickets, weddings. Go ahead and put in everything you can think of right now. AND make sure you list "Future Log" in your index, along with the pages your future log is on. They will probably be something like pp. 3-4 or 3-6.<br />
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<i>Helpful tip learned from painful experience: keep your Future Log in the front of your journal. Or in the very back if you like, but somewhere that you can quickly flip to it. I tried to have a "rolling" Future Log once, dropping off the finished month and adding a new one six months in advance. What a mistake. Even though I knew what page it was on, I still had to flip pages to find is vs. leaving it at the front of the journal.</i><br />
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Since this post will go up on January 31, let's go ahead and start our Monthly Log with February. On the next blank left-hand page, write February at the top, then list the days down the page. Since my current journal is ruled, and there aren't 30/31 lines on one page let alone 28, I let my Monthly Log run onto the facing page. Go ahead and also put a letter for the day of the week on the left side of the number of the day. For example, Feb. 1 is a Thursday, so to the left of 1, you'll write Th, to the left of 2, you'll write F, and so on.<br />
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Here's my Monthly Log for January.<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/AVvXsEiSh-NgDvEI53dhXXuoOHZ3-xwRSZ_Gt5aMPpeWHoPdoLDYsOl6_DJ2mlfdTuBBgLHTr0-ELZc_COPyh6s9EFO9Arjx37ZKnQujqvH949NPenH5Lu5SDnuR9FVTbJTaEMonOPlDVlO4leHT/s1600/Monthly+Log+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiSh-NgDvEI53dhXXuoOHZ3-xwRSZ_Gt5aMPpeWHoPdoLDYsOl6_DJ2mlfdTuBBgLHTr0-ELZc_COPyh6s9EFO9Arjx37ZKnQujqvH949NPenH5Lu5SDnuR9FVTbJTaEMonOPlDVlO4leHT/s400/Monthly+Log+pic.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">monthly log for January -- see Must Do-s crammed onto right page</td></tr>
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Like your Future Log, go ahead and fill in all the things you know about now. As each new month rolls around, you'll flip to your Future Log, find the corresponding month, then copy all that month's events from the Future Log into the current Monthly Log. For example, in my Future Log on the right side, you can kind of see that I have Jan. 18: pay Visa bill. Then, on the January Monthly Log, I have Pay Visa bill on Jan. 17 (I decided to move it up a day since I tend to ignore my reminders for a day or two).<br />
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On the facing page, write down all your Must Do-s for the month, then see where you can fit them into the month, which you have spread before you, ready to be filled up. I didn't do that for January, which is why it's January 31 and a lot of my Must Do-s are not done. That is user error, not a BuJo failure. :P<br />
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I find my Must Do-s list is most effective if I write only the truly Must Do-s, and not my Should Do-s or Want To Do-s. It keeps the list from getting diluted and makes me focus more on getting done the things I really need to get done. I can always make separate lists of SDs and WTDs and add them to the calendar once the MDs are on there.<br />
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So you've got your Future Log and your Monthly Log. I'll do one more Log, and then save the rest of the basics for the next post, since this one is getting reeeeeaaaalllly long.<br />
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The last log is your Daily Log, and this is where you get stuff done. That is, it's where you list your To-do items, called Tasks. It's also where you keep track of events that occur on that day, or ideas you get, or Deep Thoughts you may have about anything that crosses your mind.<br />
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Tasks are listed with a dot to the left of them. Events have a small circle to their left, and Notes have a dash. When a Task is completed, you put an X over the dot. If it's a really important task, you can mark it with a star. I mark mine with five dots (one in the middle and four in the corners) so I can still cross it off with an X when I'm done.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwmh0FV78QHvBUuJKeOHnUyrvELkWj-JOZNnq7Vyosg2OATFDM9un-sYd9RC7D5WRGYIAUICIxc1hKQ2YA-thvqWWBjwN2rcwX-n-YKV4-npUe_kH1Wt9zzUgxtfI-qZ8GCitD0FhckkAl/s1600/Daily+Log+pic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1200" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjwmh0FV78QHvBUuJKeOHnUyrvELkWj-JOZNnq7Vyosg2OATFDM9un-sYd9RC7D5WRGYIAUICIxc1hKQ2YA-thvqWWBjwN2rcwX-n-YKV4-npUe_kH1Wt9zzUgxtfI-qZ8GCitD0FhckkAl/s400/Daily+Log+pic.jpg" width="300" /></a></div>
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If you don't get the task done the day you scheduled it for (copied from your Monthly Log, the same way you copied Monthly tasks from your Future Log, or something that came up recently), you put a right-arrow over the dot and move it to the next day. This is called Migration, and I'll talk more about it in a future post.<br />
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Next post will be on February 3, and I'll finish the Basics of the Bujo, including Rapid Logging, Migration, Narratives, Collections, Signifiers, and my own BuJo hacks for writing. Now I have to wrap up -- the foster cat really wants to walk on the keyboard, so I need to go cuddle her.<br />
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Let me know how the BuJo process goes for you!<br />
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B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-91821882571358474972018-01-24T09:04:00.002-05:002018-01-24T09:06:08.031-05:00My Bullet Journal presentation from the 2017 Moonlight & Magnolias -- part 3Wow, I've been gone a long time. I guess November and December (and most of January) were pretty busy. Let's catch up a little.<br />
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Previously on B. Snow's Blog:<br />
In part 1 of these posts, you learned what a Bujo is, and in part 2, you learned why I started one.<br />
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Now, on to part 3 of my BuJo presentation from last year's Moonlight & Magnolias! Which I have time to write since the car is getting maintenanced, if that's a word. Blogger doesn't think it is.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoAr39BD_PRqq4-9WjnTlf_reFyAtgn0bl79jOW6WYzzU_BzHDT7Oxw7GYjSo9SkVoK1HIbMIJLBUVQP_8Rp2p_5jIR0JbaNSdhIpyxpCHiSfpT5eWom0MZs5o0_jlKEFA792n_-U-trLj/s1600/BuJo+Outline+3-cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="450" data-original-width="800" height="225" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoAr39BD_PRqq4-9WjnTlf_reFyAtgn0bl79jOW6WYzzU_BzHDT7Oxw7GYjSo9SkVoK1HIbMIJLBUVQP_8Rp2p_5jIR0JbaNSdhIpyxpCHiSfpT5eWom0MZs5o0_jlKEFA792n_-U-trLj/s400/BuJo+Outline+3-cropped.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
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As I said at the beginning of the presentation/these posts, a Bullet Journal is a highly customizable organization system. One size does not fit all. You can get some great inspiration from others, but in the end, YOUR bullet journal only has to work for YOU.<br />
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<a href="https://www.popsci.com/bullet-journal-guide" target="_blank">This Popular Science article</a> describes the bullet journal system thusly: "It's exactly as ambitious or exhaustive as you need at the exact time you're using it."<br />
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It's a very accurate description. I'd like to add that the converse is also true: it's exactly as simple and plain as you need, too. You can go either way, at any time, and you can change your system at any time. That's the great thing about it vs. a preprinted planner -- you can make changes as you go, to fit your needs at any particular moment.<br />
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So how do you get a Bullet Journal to work for you?<br />
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Let's start with what you want to keep track of in your life. The Bullet journal is about more than just tasks to be done, but let's start there, since that's what keeps most people awake at night.<br />
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There are things we need to do daily, weekly, monthly, possibly quarterly, and yearly. These are all Must Do-s (like scoop litterboxes and taxes) or Should Do-s (like exercise and cleaning -- you can probably guess what my body and my house look like..... :D).<br />
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This about the daily tasks you must do, should do, or would like to do. What are habits you'd like to cultivate? Examples that came up during the presentation are: exercise, vitamins, eating healthier, writing, social media, drinking more water.<br />
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Some weekly tasks you'd like to get done: things like laundry, clearning, cooking, date night, blog posts.<br />
Monthly: bills, glass to recycling center.<br />
Quarterly: royalty statements, dividends, taxes if you pay those quarterly.<br />
yearly: taxes, car registration, birthdays.<br />
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Some specific writing things you may want to keep track of are: plot bunnies, revision ideas, books you read, word count on stories, deadlines, checking publishers' websites for Calls for Submission. You can see how these items might fall into the daily/weekly/monthly/yearly categories. Others are more random and not linked to a timeline or a calendar.<br />
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Some other things you might want to track besides Must Do-s and Should Do-s are Want To Do-s, or what I call my Wish List. This can be as immediate as "get gardening books from library" or as far off as "take my dream trip to Paris". The Bullet Journal is a good place to keep a Bucket List, because you can add to it as you discover more and more cool things that exist in the world, like the <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/trevornace/2017/01/21/welcome-rainbow-mountains-peru/#66f71c976f70" target="_blank">Ausangate Mountain of the Peruvian Andes</a>, which I'd never heard of until yesterday.<br />
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You can list your goals and the steps you'll take to achieve them, as well as the rewards you'll get when you complete them.<br />
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I'm sure you can come up with your own lists. Regardless of the type of thing you want to record or track, there's a place for all of these in the BuJo, AND a way to find them after you've written them down.<br />
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Now that we have some idea of things we want to track/accomplish and/or habits we'd like to cultivate, it's time to start your actual Bullet Journal!<br />
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Hopefully you went ahead and started one after my first post because it was so awesomely inspiring that you rushed straight to <a href="http://bulletjournal.com/" target="_blank">the official Bullet Journal site</a> and absorbed all the great information there. But if you didn't, grab a notebook and a pen and meet me back at this blog for my next post.<br />
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The rest of this month is getting busy, too, but I'll be a grownup AND a Bullet Journaler and say that the next post will be up next week, Wednesday, January 31.<br />
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In the meantime, what are some of the things you'd like to track/record in your BuJo?<br />
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If you already have a BuJo, what are some things it's been especially good for? For me, it's been the daily tasks. Somehow less intimidating than a huge, rolling To-Do list.<br />
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See you next week! For sure!!!<br />
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<br />B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-52942565289648945872017-10-29T22:20:00.000-04:002017-10-29T22:33:59.156-04:00My Bullet Journal presentation from the 2017 Moonlight & Magnolias -- part 2Hi, all! Last time I talked a bit about what a bullet journal is. This time I'll talk about why I started using one.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqw3OrnYl7HlHS5C72fm-pjinVmqqSrMNe-UwwMwN6NPv6x9twYcL0fnCInvZTBBOpNyj3vjiDZdZFsu2Fz3DxRhSpRffqbcrksHkhnFfEE2lXRxhIxFeE6zoQrVTeW2fFqAGJzR4z_tZn/s1600/BuJo+Outline+2-cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="340" data-original-width="749" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjqw3OrnYl7HlHS5C72fm-pjinVmqqSrMNe-UwwMwN6NPv6x9twYcL0fnCInvZTBBOpNyj3vjiDZdZFsu2Fz3DxRhSpRffqbcrksHkhnFfEE2lXRxhIxFeE6zoQrVTeW2fFqAGJzR4z_tZn/s400/BuJo+Outline+2-cropped.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">super-cool powerpoint outline</td></tr>
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I’m sort of a plotter in my writing, but pantser in my life, which is not a great way to get things done. I’m bad at goals, so I sort of drift around, wondering why I can't seem to finish anything. (Am I the only one who thinks it's more fun to begin things than to finish them?)<br />
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About a year ago, was having hard time falling asleep – I would go to bed and then lie awake thinking of all the things I had to get done the following day, or the rest of the week, or sometime in my life. When would I get them done? How would I remember all of them? “I have to do A and B, and oh, crap, I forgot about C, I need to remember to do C….” So this would go on for an hour or two, and then I'd finally fall asleep. Then I'd wake up at 4:30 AM (as women of my age tend to do :) ) and it would all start up again: “Must remember to do A, B, C, must remember, how will I remember?” And that would keep me awake for another half hour or so.<br />
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You're probably wondering why I didn't just write everything down on a To-Do list. I've tried To-Do lists in the past, and here's how they tend to go:<br />
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I would create a To-Do list on a piece of paper, then lose the paper.<br />
I would create a To-Do list in a Word doc/google docs then forget to look at it.<br />
OR I'd remember to look at the list but the same long-term tasks would loom, so a) I didn’t want to look at it, or b) they’d be there so long my eyes would stop seeing them.<br />
The same thing happened with computer desktop post-its. The were so pretty and fun, but eventually the last two would just sit there on my desktop and my eyes just stopped seeing them after awhile.<br />
<br />
When I explain this to people who use To-Do lists well, they ask incredulously, “But doesn’t it feel great to cross off a finished item?” For me, the answer (weirdly) is "no". I don't see my accomplishments. All I see is everything else that's still on the list. It's like I've reached what I thought was the peak of a mountain only to find out the rest of it was hidden in the clouds and I still have 5000 feet to go. I guess it's some weird psychological thing. Maybe I should try therapy someday....<br />
<br />
Another weird psychological thing is the feeling that crossing off a task from a paper list or deleting it from an electronic document means it never existed, so I don’t get “credit” for completing the task. Again, not how To-Do lists are supposed to make you feel.<br />
<br />
Shorter version: To-Do lists don't work for me.<br />
<br />
So there I was about a year ago, not falling asleep and panicking about how I was going to get everything done I needed to get done.<br />
<br />
One day I was perusing Facebook (hey, it's part of my social media presence! Certainly not just another method of procrastination!) and I happened to see a post from <a href="https://www.facebook.com/andrea.judy" target="_blank">Andrea Judy</a>, a local writer whom I met at Moonlight & Magnolias a few years ago. She was asking her fb friends what planner she should get for the following year. Being perennially interested in getting organized, I read the replies. The first one said "Bullet Journal."<br />
<br />
(I just have to add here that when I told this story during my presentation, a girl in the third row waved and said "That was me!" So thank you, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/vikki.perry" target="_blank">Vikki Perry</a>, for setting me on my Bullet Journal path! :D)<br />
<br />
I read Vikki's comment and thought “WTF is a bullet journal?” So I googled "bullet journal" and found a Buzzfeed article entitled “<a href="https://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelwmiller/how-to-start-a-bullet-journal?utm_term=.el9OvqaRA#.urWk3NmoX" target="_blank">WTF Is A Bullet Journal And Why Should You Start One? An Explainer</a>” and I thought, "This is the article for me!!"<br />
<br />
Here's the says-it-all graphic that accompanies the article, used entirely without permission:<br />
<br />
<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/AVvXsEiYGH9HCZaa1j7UblIkHIya04i7Fdtl0gaBmUTIiM2Fl-vS1p3G6UOTcgOwDL04fFyowzHfRXHYTe_r0Tn-cJFPTKMsiQWJLpHlcoqGYRQJIVaxM1WYlx4EhoxIKcElZYLHU75BU4SiqUcp/s1600/WTF+is+a+bujo+--+buzzfeed+graphic.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="712" data-original-width="713" height="319" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYGH9HCZaa1j7UblIkHIya04i7Fdtl0gaBmUTIiM2Fl-vS1p3G6UOTcgOwDL04fFyowzHfRXHYTe_r0Tn-cJFPTKMsiQWJLpHlcoqGYRQJIVaxM1WYlx4EhoxIKcElZYLHU75BU4SiqUcp/s320/WTF+is+a+bujo+--+buzzfeed+graphic.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">image by Ellie Sunakawa / Buzzfeed</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
I read the Buzzfeed article, went to the <a href="http://bulletjournal.com/" target="_blank">official Bullet Journal site</a> to learn the basics, and read a few other articles. Then I bought myself a cheap composition notebook and started my own BuJo. That night I vomited all my thoughts into it. Everything that needed to be done at some point, everything I was stressing about remembering, literally every worrisome thought that crossed my mind went into that notebook. Basically, I emptied my brain.<br />
<br />
And that night I went right to sleep for the first time in months.<br />
<br />
I remember getting into bed and waiting for the thoughts to come and keep me awake like they did every night, but my mind was blissfully empty. I'd written down all of my worry-causing thoughts. They were all safely tucked away in one place, so I didn't have to hold them in my head, repeating them to make sure I remembered them. It was almost like I had permission to forget about them.<br />
<br />
If you remember from my last post, the reason we write things by hand is because it helps us remember them better. So you might think it's a bit paradoxical to write things by hand in order to remember them, but then allow yourself to forget them because they’re written down. But think of it this way: your brain should be used for thinking and solving problems, for useful knowledge and memories, not for storing to-do items.<br />
<br />
Now when I go to bed, I work out story plots instead of trying to remember that I have to pick up the dry cleaning I dropped off two months ago or the vet appointment next week or the food in the fridge that should be used up before it goes off. And actually, I don't usually get too far with the story plots, because I fall asleep pretty quickly most nights.<br />
<br />
So for me, To-Do lists were intimidating or useless, but now I actually like writing things down. It gets all those thoughts and worries out of my head and someplace where I can do something about them. I don't have to stress over trying to remember all of them. And I get "credit" for the things I get done. I'll explain that in a future post.<br />
<br />
Now you know why I started a Bullet Journal. The next post will be about why YOU should start a Bullet Journal! :)<br />
<br />
If you've already started a Bullet Journal, please let me know how it's going. And if you haven't started one yet but these posts are persuading you to do so, go get yourself a journal, because we'll be doing Reader Participation in a couple weeks. The journal doesn't have to be expensive, just something you're willing to carry around with you most of the time.<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading!<br />
<span style="background-color: white;"><br /></span>B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-47772563395056692512017-10-26T12:54:00.000-04:002017-10-26T12:57:19.839-04:00Tim Urban, Master Procrastinator (TED talk video)I saw this video last week. I'm finally getting around to mentioning it here.<br />
<br />
Anyone else recognize EVERYTHING he's talking about?<br />
<br />
(And of course the embed url doesn't work....)<br />
<br />
<a href="https://www.ted.com/talks/tim_urban_inside_the_mind_of_a_master_procrastinator" target="_blank">Tim Urban: Inside the Mind of a Master Procrastinator</a><br />
<br />B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-70207484489968410092017-10-15T12:30:00.001-04:002017-10-15T12:41:14.088-04:00My Bullet Journal presentation from the 2017 Moonlight & Magnolias -- part 1Hi, all! I did my presentation on Bullet Journals at this year's Moonlight & Magnolias (thanks very much to Ryder Carroll for permission) and it went over really well!<br />
<br />
Several GRW members who were unable to attend expressed an interest in learning more about Bullet Journals, so I'll be blogging my presentation over the next few weeks. Welcome to part one of "Bullet Journals: Getting Control of Your Life and Your Writing with B. Snow."<br />
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<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/AVvXsEjq-SRpEEUH6s_fo4QziX40n6131tqwCRWq_c-dBDZ_PxaZG3_lWeyv-fbCiBaF_S7wtRy1NbU5sK-iEUnJ8x-plQXJxhqOrSGDYFPbzXOYcx4p0fFmLx8WCRzMOr5aWYflPtj3ipKpgIKc/s1600/BuJo+Outline+1-cropped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="360" data-original-width="761" height="187" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq-SRpEEUH6s_fo4QziX40n6131tqwCRWq_c-dBDZ_PxaZG3_lWeyv-fbCiBaF_S7wtRy1NbU5sK-iEUnJ8x-plQXJxhqOrSGDYFPbzXOYcx4p0fFmLx8WCRzMOr5aWYflPtj3ipKpgIKc/s400/BuJo+Outline+1-cropped.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">follow along with the handy-dandy outline</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
First off, the What: What is a Bullet Journal?<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="background-color: white; color: purple; font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><b>A bullet journal is a highly customizable organization system.</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "verdana" , sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">(Yes, that sentence deserves to be in bold, purple, different font. I will come back to it several times over the course of these posts.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
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The <a href="http://bulletjournal.com/" target="_blank">official Bullet Journal site</a> calls the Bullet Journal<span style="text-align: center;"> "The analog system for the digital age."</span></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
That might sound complicated. To translate for non-science types like me: </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><b>"The Bullet Journal is a notebook you write in."</b></span><br />
<div>
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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/AVvXsEij9pUq9wRinb3b8ggyS3w5Zem2KiyPgOWjYYVoT9OEe2eGSj9s8zsDS32Eagv7OLALgUmjg0lwfoBaa87D8W3_baNiqc5XM1gyQ6ifDPOvrQJFaTgqu6trC5CL7k7WHdO_GGiAbJyEBJHi/s1600/a+notebook.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEij9pUq9wRinb3b8ggyS3w5Zem2KiyPgOWjYYVoT9OEe2eGSj9s8zsDS32Eagv7OLALgUmjg0lwfoBaa87D8W3_baNiqc5XM1gyQ6ifDPOvrQJFaTgqu6trC5CL7k7WHdO_GGiAbJyEBJHi/s320/a+notebook.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">my first BuJo (Yoobi composition book from Target)<br />
and my second and current BuJo, received at a Dreamspinner Press Authors Workshop</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<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/AVvXsEjJd-DF3gP3lsDzm0GqXnDtIyenLfQ2Uxzahyphenhyphen4T3wloomAhmGzmNA8KKqB7MQKh5UPNwNzJgxgHU84rZH26ifXUmS6gvWqn6zjEjTxYSoALs8KICit9rB-YssHcMnilqMrHr8itokRJLNvn/s1600/you+write+in.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1200" data-original-width="1600" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJd-DF3gP3lsDzm0GqXnDtIyenLfQ2Uxzahyphenhyphen4T3wloomAhmGzmNA8KKqB7MQKh5UPNwNzJgxgHU84rZH26ifXUmS6gvWqn6zjEjTxYSoALs8KICit9rB-YssHcMnilqMrHr8itokRJLNvn/s320/you+write+in.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">index from first journal, recent pages from current journal</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The bullet journal (or BuJo, for short) <i>is</i> a notebook you write in, but there <i>is</i> a system to it, created and trademarked by Ryder Carroll, a digital product designer. Yes, a guy who can actually do technology, and yet he chose to go low-tech with the bullet journal.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
[Note: if an app or electronic planner, or traditional planner works for you, you probably don't need a bullet journal. :) But! You can combine your bullet journal with calendar or planner apps and reminder alarms to help you get things done. And now there's a <a href="http://bulletjournal.com/companion/" target="_blank">Bullet Journal companion app</a> with reference materials and reminders to help you get the most out of your BuJo.]</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
One reason to go low-tech is that we remember things better when we write them by hand than we do when we type them. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<b>Writing by hand takes some time and some effort. </b>Part of the bullet journal system is doing things with intention, reflecting on what you're doing so you can focus on the things that make your life better and get rid of the things that just clutter up your days.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
I don't think it's a coincidence that the past couple of years have seen interest surging in bullet journals, <a href="http://tidyingup.com/" target="_blank">Marie Kondo's Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up</a>, <a href="https://www.facebook.com/gratitudechallenge/" target="_blank">facebook gratitude posts</a>, and <a href="http://www.countryliving.com/life/a41187/what-is-hygge-things-to-know-about-the-danish-lifestyle-trend/" target="_blank">hygge</a>. They all have to do with focus, intention, and making one's life simpler and better. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
As you write things in your bullet journal, think about </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
a) what tasks/goals you want to achieve,</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
b) how you'll achieve them, and</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
c) WHY you want to achieve them, i.e. if they are adding to the quality of your life.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
So yes, you'll spend some time writing. But I hope this writing will end up helping you declutter your mind and your life, so you can focus on the things that will make your life simpler and better.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
There is one more bonus to the low-techness of the bullet journal: it will help you fall asleep for two reasons. I'll discuss the first reason in my next blog post. The second reason is that bullet journalling before bed means no electronics at night. Clinical psychologist <a href="https://www.facebook.com/anne.bartolucci" target="_blank">Anne Bartolucci</a>, who specializes in behavioral sleep medicine, gave a great presentation a few years ago at M&M on sleep problems. One of the things she mentioned is that blue light pouring into your eyes within two hours of going to bed will make it harder to fall asleep. Guess where blue light comes from? Pretty much every electronic item you own that has a screen. Yes, you can set your tablet or kindle app to sepia, but it would be even better to shut off all electronics and look at paper. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
In the next blog post I'll talk about why I started a bullet journal, including that first reason a bullet journal will help you fall asleep.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Just out of curiosity, were you at my M&M presentation? If so, what came up that was helpful? What questions did you have that I didn't cover, that I might be able to talk about in these blog posts?<br />
<br />
Thanks for reading! </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br />
<br />
B</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div>
B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-9858665127714614772017-09-24T12:13:00.001-04:002017-10-15T12:42:20.297-04:00Bullet Journal: habit tracker tries and failsI finally did something I should have done a long time ago: allot time to my Dailies page.<br />
<br />
"Dailies" is what I call my habit tracker. I've seen beautifully colored habit trackers on other people's BuJo blogs and wanted to have that, so I created a version that fits in my journal.<br />
<br />
The try: create a habit tracker in my journal.<br />
The success: fitting two weeks of habits onto a page of the journal.<br />
The fail: not getting my colored pens/pencils so I end up with a bunch of one-color boxes (and a bunch of empty spaces, but see below).<br />
<br />
<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/AVvXsEjljsUxM2yiJl6-hrg0u1MO9C7VedJJzTN6_ahmmXpiUW4QrhvCvxwoCMnS_4mI6SzhLyCvWwhmL4Fv1QBh4jCgl8UuQLK6-ZjR_htn66zh9qPU7iRiWYFGeQOcKL-TizWaCjsktFTT7aaU/s1600/20170908_110720.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjljsUxM2yiJl6-hrg0u1MO9C7VedJJzTN6_ahmmXpiUW4QrhvCvxwoCMnS_4mI6SzhLyCvWwhmL4Fv1QBh4jCgl8UuQLK6-ZjR_htn66zh9qPU7iRiWYFGeQOcKL-TizWaCjsktFTT7aaU/s320/20170908_110720.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">okay Dailies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<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/AVvXsEiE8mlz_Cp3n3wRZjgG9lW-JRwATqhPLNen5_fWxqX4p-wJJ10yMwG3BptF1Hju18gFqQh3QlcGRTHAYQL1pgNf9M2i_1WWZz34Mq6t0wk5K99ICPr6_5yYmDNEI_kZnifPcByr6yy49S55/s1600/20170908_110751.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="900" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiE8mlz_Cp3n3wRZjgG9lW-JRwATqhPLNen5_fWxqX4p-wJJ10yMwG3BptF1Hju18gFqQh3QlcGRTHAYQL1pgNf9M2i_1WWZz34Mq6t0wk5K99ICPr6_5yYmDNEI_kZnifPcByr6yy49S55/s320/20170908_110751.jpg" width="180" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">also okay Dailies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
The success: listing everything I want to do each day.<br />
<br />
The fail: having WAAAAAY too many items.<br />
<br />
I just read somewhere (where??) not to put too many items on your habit tracker. That is good advice.<br />
<br />
When I threw some minutes on for each line on my Dailies -- 20 minutes of writing per story I want to get done, 5 minutes for scheduling tasks, .5 minutes to take a pill -- I ended up with 247 minutes for everything I want to get done each day. (That does include working on the Bullet Journal presentation for M&M, a task that will last only until I give the presentation).<br />
<br />
<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/AVvXsEj8wRn3fO69ODk56icPmdnaLzfWTwjENEB9hlHisr_wHV-PPrIhT-SNwmrtS-IGbBA5nlma0iqWNYK_Kh6ua2ZXyLGpDfk6mxhUoU8Q65fsjk_qiQ99ZNwe3wtk5SWsl2c4z55b_1AVbE67/s1600/20170908_110858.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" data-original-height="900" data-original-width="1600" height="180" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8wRn3fO69ODk56icPmdnaLzfWTwjENEB9hlHisr_wHV-PPrIhT-SNwmrtS-IGbBA5nlma0iqWNYK_Kh6ua2ZXyLGpDfk6mxhUoU8Q65fsjk_qiQ99ZNwe3wtk5SWsl2c4z55b_1AVbE67/s320/20170908_110858.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">huge fail Dailies</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
That's 4.05 hours of just daily tasks. And while some of these happen in the morning or during the day (reading, drinking water, checking email), the bulk of them are supposed to happen in the evenings.<br />
<br />
No wonder I've been failing.<br />
<br />
We usually get home after 8 PM. I feed the cats, which takes about 30 minutes to wash the soaked bowls, play with them, feed them, feed Diana, and if there are foster kittens, add an extra 15 minutes to wash their bowls, feed them, scoop their litterboxes, and cuddle them. Add a few more minutes to that if they're on medications. So I'm up to 8:45 by now.<br />
<br />
Then dinner -- make or heat up something and watch a 44-minute TV show. That takes me to 9:30 or 10 PM.<br />
<br />
Even if I go to bed at 1 AM, which is not unusual, that's only three hours. No wonder I've been failing.<br />
<br />
Why did it take me so long to think about how long each of these tasks takes?!?<br />
<br />
Maybe I'm overestimating some of them -- dishes won't take 15 minutes, right? -- so maybe I could pare it down to 3 hours. (Let's not even think about the non-daily tasks that are supposed to fit in there somehow....)<br />
<br />
I could do 3 hours of something that's not TV every evening, right? Especially if it means I get stuff done?<br />
<br />
I need to revise that page, to call it a habit tracker to remind myself that these aren't just tasks I'm trying to complete, but actual habits I'd like to cultivate. Words matter, people!!<br />
<br />
Now...which habits are worth cultivating, and which should be left behind (or at least until I've sort out my free time)?<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-73227823883441797572016-01-26T10:27:00.000-05:002016-01-26T10:44:34.277-05:00Piper and Xara's Project Fierce Chicago story<a href="https://lessthanthreepress.com/books/index.php?main_page=product_bookx_info&cPath=118&products_id=632&zenid=leb4n55p0pesrhdrqnttd6q803" target="_blank">Project Fierce Chicago</a> was released about a year and a half ago. Plenty of time to read all the stories in it, right?<br />
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Not if you're a master procrastinator.</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Anyway, I'm FINALLY getting around to reading Piper Vaughn and Xara X. Xanakas' story "Finding Home". They've painted their homeless character so realistically, with all the little details we don't think about when we have a home, or even just a place of residence. It's giving me slightly traumatic flashbacks to writing my own Project Fierce story, when I was really working to get into the head of someone with no place to go and no way to find work. </div>
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I'll shut the fuck up about my <i>process</i> now, because writing about being homeless is not even in the same universe of trauma that actually being homeless is.</div>
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Back to the amazing "Finding Home". It also reminds me of a character from my YA murder mystery (at the completed first-draft stage), because he has some of the same resources as Piper and Xara's character. Maybe those reminders are a gentle nudge to get off my rear (or rather, get my rear on a chair) and revisit that story, see if I can't get it into some kind of shape for submission. </div>
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Any suggestions for someone who gets paralyzed by the thought of revisions?</div>
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And do check out the anthology (link at the top of this post). All proceeds go to Project Fierce Chicago, a non-profit organization that helps homeless LGBT youth in the Chicago area. Or if you want to donate directly, you can go to their website: <a href="http://projectfiercechicago.org/">http://projectfiercechicago.org/</a></div>
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I forgot to add other places to get the book.<br />
<a href="http://smile.amazon.com/Project-Fierce-Chicago-Samantha-Derr-ebook/dp/B00LU6N8E8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1453822856&sr=8-1&keywords=project+fierce+chicago" target="_blank">Amazon</a>, <a href="https://www.allromanceebooks.com/product-projectfiercechicago-1566548-166.html" target="_blank">All Romance eBooks</a>, and <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/project-fierce-chicago-samantha-m-derr/1119960413?ean=2940149824854" target="_blank">Barnes and Noble</a>. Maybe other places as well, which I should know but I don't.<br />
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B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-2397654470952242202015-11-22T13:02:00.001-05:002015-11-22T13:04:32.238-05:00In search of concentration, and the Zeigarnik Effect<div class="_209g _2vxa" data-block="true" data-offset-key="de2s2-0-0" style="background-color: white; color: #373e4d; direction: ltr; font-family: helvetica, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 18px; position: relative; white-space: pre-wrap;">
<span data-offset-key="de2s2-0-0">I heard about the Zeigarnik Effect for the first time </span>today, from an <a href="http://www.joemygod.com/2015/11/21/the-science-of-earworms-video/" target="_blank">article about earworms</a>.<br />
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"<span style="color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 22.4px;">In psychology, the Zeigarnik effect states that people remember uncompleted or interrupted tasks better than completed tasks....</span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 22.4px;">The Zeigarnik effect suggests that students who suspend their study, during which they do unrelated activities (such as studying unrelated subjects or playing games), will remember material better than students who complete study sessions without a break.</span><span style="color: #252525; font-family: sans-serif; line-height: 22.4px;">" (<a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluma_Zeigarnik" target="_blank">from Wikipedia</a>)</span><br />
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Back when I was consuming tons of fanfic, I got in the habit of STOPPING when the story got really good and going to do something else, probably to prolong the fun of the story. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">(pics not mine; will remove upon request)</td></tr>
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But now I can't stop doing it. It's become almost a compulsion to put a story aside just when it's getting really interesting, which is NOT how it's supposed to work!!! </div>
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I've lost my ability to concentrate on one thing for a long time, for which I totally blame the internet. And now I wonder if it's a vicious circle: I interrupt a task, which causes me to keep the task in my head, which causes me to stress (consciously or subconsciously) about the unfinished whatever, which makes it even harder to concentrate. </div>
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<span data-offset-key="8470a-0-0">I'm trying to re-learn concentration, by forcing myself to continue with reading or doing whatever task I' working on. It helps if it's a good book (I've been catching up on Rhys Ford's <a href="http://rhysford.com/sinners-gin-series/" target="_blank">Sinners</a> and <a href="http://rhysford.com/cole-mcginnis-series/" target="_blank">Cole McGinnis</a> series) or if it's something at work that HAS to be done. But it's rough.</span></div>
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<span data-offset-key="8470a-0-0">Anyone else out there have problems with concentration? I don't think I have ADD; I used to do one thing at a time for hours when i was a kid. But that was before the pretty, shiny internet, and when there were only seven channels on TV.</span></div>
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B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-86540659875165445222015-08-19T21:21:00.003-04:002015-08-19T21:21:46.472-04:00The Atlanta Beltline<a href="http://www.news.gatech.edu/features/beltline-impact" target="_blank">A fantastic article on the Atlanta Beltline</a> and the positve changes it has already made to the city. Scroll to read.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">before</td></tr>
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<br />B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-81842314346803527742015-07-30T11:14:00.003-04:002015-07-30T11:14:55.806-04:00rant: why would anyone kill a lion that wasn't attacking them?Just now catching up on the news, specifically, about Cecil the lion. If you're as upset about it as I am now, just skip this post.<br />
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Oddly enough, since I became a vegetarian, I am LESS opposed to legal hunting of deer, for example, because at least the animal probably had a good life in the wild before being killed (fairly quickly by a bullet and not a pack of wolves or coyotes) vs. animals living their whole lives in horrible conditions in some factory farms.<br />
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But WTF, man. What kind of person gets a thrill out of killing beautiful animals that they aren't even going to eat? And an animal in a safari park that had a name?? That's like killing your neighbor's pet dog.<br />
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end v. upset rantB Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-5218454531063322182015-07-22T17:01:00.004-04:002015-07-22T17:05:39.242-04:00Emily's Magical Bejeweled CodpieceThank you to the bloggers who have let me promote my new book at their blogs when I can't even remember to update my own blog..... >.<<br />
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Emily's Magical Bejeweled Codpiece came out on June 24, when I was out of the country. That seems to keep happening....<br />
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The story is a short novella, about 16,000 words, contemporary and time travel and general crackfic, but it is also my ode to odor. I will do a blog post about that shortly.<br />
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The story is about Tom, who is kind of a jerk and wants what he can't have instead of being happy with what he does have, which is really pretty awesome. He gets himself in a whole heap o' trouble when he puts on a bejeweled codpiece that causes him to time travel back to Renaissance Florence. (I told you, crackfic!!)<br />
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I discuss how I came up with the title in <a href="http://thenovelapproachreviews.com/2015/07/08/guest-post-emilys-magical-bejeweled-codpiece-by-b-snow/" target="_blank">my guest blog at The Novel Approach</a>.<br />
And <a href="http://rainbow-reviews.com/book-reviews/emilys-magical-bejeweled-codpiece-by-b-snow-at-dreamspinner-press" target="_blank">here's a lovely review</a> from Rainbow Book Reviews!<br />
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More information (including the real blurb) at <a href="http://www.dreamspinnerpress.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=6568" target="_blank">the link</a>. <br />
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And can I just say that Paul Richmond knocked it out of the park with that cover? I would add heart icons if I knew how.<br />
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<br />B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-29765869628132679392015-07-10T10:31:00.000-04:002015-07-10T10:31:53.938-04:00a thought on Obergefell decision holdouts in KY, AL and elsewhereI'm so impressed with all those counties where the clerks are refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples because of the clerks' religious beliefs. Just think about it -- up until now, absolutely no sinners have requested marriage licenses there. It must have been paradise.B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-77013903624630372412015-05-23T11:37:00.002-04:002016-03-18T09:54:39.891-04:00How I understand RFRAs (Religious Freedom Restoration Acts)I started writing this post when lots of states were trying to pass Religious Freedom Restoration Acts. Then Indiana got smacked down and the issue seemed to go away...for awhile. It's back, in Louisiana, so I'm dusting off this blog post. Yet another chance to offend readers, yay.....<br />
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Proponents of RFRAs use the <a href="http://rhrealitycheck.org/article/2012/02/17/religious-freedom-to-deny-women-health-care-ham-sandwich-defense/" target="_blank">example</a> of a <a href="http://marksilk.religionnews.com/2013/12/06/rick-warrens-bogus-jewish-deli-analogy/" target="_blank">kosher deli</a> being <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/explainlikeimfive/comments/30dx6y/eli5_how_much_of_an_effect_will_the_religious/" target="_blank">required to sell</a> a <a href="http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2015/03/31/3640801/conservatives-indiana-discrimination/" target="_blank">ham sandwich</a>. This example is not accurate.<br />
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Kosher delis don't sell ham sandwiches. To ANYONE. And if they DID sell a ham sandwich to one person, then yes, the public accomodation law requires them to sell ham sandwiches to EVERYONE.<br />
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But let's go with the kosher deli example for awhile and see where an RFRA would take us.<br />
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You go into a kosher deli and ask for some pastrami. The deli is doing a brisk business in pastrami that day. But the deli owner refuses to sell it to you because you told him you were going to put it in a Reuben sandwich, which has cheese on it, and mixing meat and cheese is against the deli owner's religion.<br />
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You are shocked at his refusal. You think, what does that have to do with MY sandwich? Having meat with cheese is not against MY religion. Once I pay for it, it's <i>my</i> pastrami and I can do whatever I want with it. I could make a Lady Gaga meat dress out of it if I felt like it. It's none of his business what I do with that pastrami in the privacy of my own home. His job is only to sell me the damn pastrami, and there's no reason his religion should come between me and my sandwich.<br />
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I mean, it sounds a little crazy, right? That YOU can't be sold an item because your intended use of that item is against the business owner's religion? It's not like you're asking HIM to eat the sandwich or even be in the same room when YOU eat it. He's not participating in your lunch.<br />
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But let's put that aside for now.<br />
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You're a regular, non-litigious person, you don't like fights, and you believe a business owner has a right not to serve whomever he wants. So you leave the store, planning to get your pastrami elsewhere. No point in causing a fuss because one particular store owner is being weird,<br />
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Only it turns out, that deli's pastrami is SOOO good that every other deli, grocery store, and butcher shop in town has realized it can't compete and therefore has stopped selling pastrami. The only place that carries it within a 50-mile radius is the store that refuses to sell it to you. <br />
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So you don't get pastrami, big deal. You can make your Reuben with corned beef.<br />
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But it turns out the deli also has cornered the market on corned beef. And on roast beef. And on turkey and chicken. They don't sell pork products, but everyone in town is on a health kick and stopped buying pork, so stores stopped selling it. The only store in town selling any kind of meat is the deli.<br />
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That's okay. You've been meaning to try a vegetarian diet anyway.<br />
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But while you were driving around town looking for corned beef, the local grocery store went out of business. And the deli, making money hand-over-fist because of their excellent meat selection, has purchased the supermarket. The owner refuses to let you buy anything from the supermarket. Doing business with those who eat meat and cheese together in the same sandwich would be condoning that abominable and unhealthy lifestyle.<br />
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Well, now, this is getting a little inconvenient. You think about taking the owner to court, forcing him to sell you lunch meat, but you have no case. People who eat meat and cheese together are not a Federally protected class, and they're not protected by the state or local governments, either.<br />
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You consider lying, telling him you've given up putting cheese on your meat sandwiches. You <i>could</i> actually<i> </i>stop eating meat and cheese together in the same sandwich. I mean, it's a choice, right? No one is BORN eating meat and cheese sandwiches. You have to be <i>taught</i> how to make a Reuben. And yes, it's not the healthiest food in the universe.<br />
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But if you're an adult, why not be able to make a sandwich without needing the acceptance of the business owner who is selling you the ingredients? It's your life. If you want to clog your arteries, that should be your choice.<br />
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You start to order your food from websites and soon your fridge is stocked with all the pastrami, swiss cheese, sauerkraut, and Russian dressing you can handle. Life is good. Until a knock comes on the door....<br />
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The deli owner, who has just purchased your apartment complex, doesn't mean to harass you. He's sure you're a very nice person and has nothing against you or your kind. It's just that your meat-and-cheese eating lifestyle is <i>such</i> an abomination in his eyes. It goes against his sincerely held religious beliefs to stand by and allow someone to do that on his property. It's practically the same as if HE were the one eating meat and cheese. So you have two weeks to vacate the premises.<br />
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It's getting hard to believe that he only hates meat-and-cheese sandwiches and not you. <br />
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You find a new apartment, stock your new fridge with pastrami and swiss cheese, and settle in. You're a little short on cash due to the security deposit and the shipping costs for the pastrami, but you'll make that up with your next paycheck. But the next day your supervisor calls you into his office. Turns out the deli has gone conglomerate and purchased your company. And the sandwiches you bring into the office (and consume at home in your off-time) are an offense to the new owner's religious sensibilities. No one else in the company feels the need to eat that sort of thing, especially not in public. To continue to employ you would be like condoning your lifestyle. You are let go with a generous severance package.<br />
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It's only a matter of time before your new apartment is bought up by the deli owner or one of his friends, so you spend the next two weeks using up all the Reuben sandwich ingredients in your fridge and packing your belongings, and then you leave town. As you drive away, you begin to wonder if that was actually the point of whole game: to get you to move away so the townspeople could have a "nice" community with no "undesirables". You may never know, but it doesn't matter. You're already on your way out.<br />
<br />
-------------<br />
<br />
Okay, yeah, that was a worst-case scenario. But we need to understand that these RFRA laws do not protect religious minorities from discrimination by the majority -- that's what the Civil Rights Act of 1964 does. RFRAs protect the majority from having to serve a member of an "undesirable" minority group. An RFRA means that if someone <i>wanted</i> to do all those things in the scenario above, they <i>could, </i>and face no legal repercussions.<br />
<br />
The slimiest thing about these RFRA laws is their timing. It's not a coincidence that they're popping up in every state with a Republican-majority legistlature. They're the product of anti-gay groups and intended as a pre-enptive strike if the Supreme Court rules for marriage equality in June, so business owners can "practice their religion" by turning away gay couples.<br />
<br />
Most business owners just want to run their businesses and make money, which, after all, is the point of business. Many state legislatures saw the epic backlash Indiana has experienced after passing their RFRA and are now backtracking from their plan to pass an RFRA. Many, but not all. So in the words of Mad-eye Moody, "Constant Vigilance!" We must call out these RFRAs for what they are -- not protections for religion, but licenses to discriminate. And that's unacceptable in the 21st century.<br />
<br />
~ end rant! ~<br />
<br />
BTW, I make an awesome fake reuben with no pastrami at all because I stopped eating meat a few years ago. (I do put meat in the DH's sandwich if I remember to get some.) Saute red peppers and sweet onions, then slightly dry out the sauerkraut in the pan when the peppers and onions are done (or at the end of the sauteing time). Layer swiss cheese (and somestimes cheddar, too) and the other ingredients on bread one kind of mustard, then another layer of cheese, then the top piece of bread with a second kind of mustard. No butter or oil on the outside, and no Russian dressing inside, so it's healthy! (Pay no attention to the four pounds of cheese....)<br />
<br />
[subject line edited on 3/18/2016]B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-21359219289045825442015-05-17T00:00:00.000-04:002015-05-17T00:00:01.472-04:00HAHBAT post: What the Torah says about The Gay -- straight from the rabbi's mouth<br />
I've mentioned this anecdote in lots of different places, but I'll give it a permanent place here, then in the future I can just be lazy and post a link. :) And since the topic is homophobia, I decided it would make a good post for the International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia, and Biphobia.<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/AVvXsEgxfSjalJOPNKtY1xY7Rfx8IwxMYtPCia9MyBRdk7JDkGEs_pEEpKDq_UIkGH-Oq-aHZXpn_By2Lswv1mN3ILfNvgmU3H14TBBwo5bciC5M1CDPRFyQdKBduGkku4LdDh22FB6Rns9MiYgC/s1600/HAHBAT+2015+badge.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgxfSjalJOPNKtY1xY7Rfx8IwxMYtPCia9MyBRdk7JDkGEs_pEEpKDq_UIkGH-Oq-aHZXpn_By2Lswv1mN3ILfNvgmU3H14TBBwo5bciC5M1CDPRFyQdKBduGkku4LdDh22FB6Rns9MiYgC/s320/HAHBAT+2015+badge.png" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">Badge for the </span><a href="http://hopagainsthomophobia.blogspot.com/" style="font-size: medium; text-align: start;" target="_blank">Hop Against Homophobia, Bi-, and Transphobia</a></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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Plus I had it partially written, and have I mentioned I'm lazy? :)<br />
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Okay, hang on to your hats; it's about to get Biblical up in here.<br />
<br />
People who don't believe in same-sex marriage and/or civil rights for gay people like to quote verse 20:13 from Leviticus to explain why The Gay is a bad thing. (These people generally tend to ignore everything ELSE in the Bible that's described as a bad thing.)<br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS2wZqUQwwfYNJEhKTFXz7yYA-l7MMg43koSkh00eEBIqKpw6PCdHBS2Ol9QAz9plt3FFDmm-yACrpKY_b_MoqvQPuuOlRA9GlbTIXe_bwHMzM3Yp_-b5L6AdBNN2ReBTLT5NXI9U5JjFZ/s1600/leviticus+tattoo-pricess.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="220" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhS2wZqUQwwfYNJEhKTFXz7yYA-l7MMg43koSkh00eEBIqKpw6PCdHBS2Ol9QAz9plt3FFDmm-yACrpKY_b_MoqvQPuuOlRA9GlbTIXe_bwHMzM3Yp_-b5L6AdBNN2ReBTLT5NXI9U5JjFZ/s320/leviticus+tattoo-pricess.jpeg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Verse 20:13 (and verse 18;22, which says basically the same thing), were written in Hebrew, as was the rest of the Torah (Old Testament). When people study to become rabbis, even Reform rabbis, they learn to read the Torah in the original language. Our temple's rabbi talked about that passage of Leviticus one year at Yom Kippur services when he said that if a same-sex couple came to him to get married, he would perform the ceremony.<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/AVvXsEjdlsNqinWFPBMFcbIefZDoDdKMg9k8ZzUx13KhEMwYjiJGig0lMpKYVTxsR2O7F0v3xuNK8pY6EJ8tuQeB6mnhaaUXr17osB3Jw4eIHSaRK-yrWwV0iP49Bq9fjkGoCghiYl_OH9TmjgTk/s1600/wedding+with+chuppah.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdlsNqinWFPBMFcbIefZDoDdKMg9k8ZzUx13KhEMwYjiJGig0lMpKYVTxsR2O7F0v3xuNK8pY6EJ8tuQeB6mnhaaUXr17osB3Jw4eIHSaRK-yrWwV0iP49Bq9fjkGoCghiYl_OH9TmjgTk/s320/wedding+with+chuppah.jpg" width="213" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">A picture I used in last year's HAHAT, but it's just so pretty, I'm going to use it again. :)</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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The rabbi explained that the word usually translated as "abomination" does not actually have such a strongly proscriptive meaning in in Hebrew. A better English translation of that word ("toevah") would be "something we Jews do not do."<br />
<br />
While researching my as-yet-unfinished pirate novel, I learned a little bit about homosexuality in Islamic cultures. In most Mediterranean cultures, going back thousands of years, men have had (and do have) sex with men, both before and after marriage to women. We know about Greek Love and <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2yzY-HUvavU" target="_blank">the "snails and oysters" scene from Spartacus</a>.<br />
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Oddly enough, the ancient Hebrews did not follow this custom. I don't know why; maybe it was considered disrespectful to one's wife to go off and have sex with teenaged boys? Or maybe the men were all just "ew, homosex is icky"?<br />
<br />
Whatever the reason, it seems clear to me that a more accurate translation of those Leviticus passages would be "men having sex with men is something we Jews do not do." Looking at the history of the region, everyone else did have that custom; the Jews simply did not. And that is reflected in the Torah.<br />
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(As for using even this interpretation to decry today's same-sex relationships, keep in mind that people had a LOT of customs back then that no one does anymore. Killing a bullock and offering it up as a burnt sacrifice in your suburban backyard? I think you'd get a visit from the police....)<br />
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In an online discussion once, a commenter told me my rabbi was "aspostate" (a disbeliever, one who has renounced their faith) for offering up this translation of the Leviticus verse. IMO, it's UNBELIEVABLY arrogant to declare someone else's interpretation of a Bible verse invalid because it disagrees with yours. Not only do people not agree on what the Bible means, <a href="http://www.tennessean.com/story/news/politics/2015/04/15/house-makes-bible-official-state-book/25811959/" target="_blank">some people can't even agree on which Bible to use</a>.<br />
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So the next time someone claims that the Leviticus verse justifies homophobia, feel free to direct them to this blog post. Or to tell them, "That translation is not accurate." Or to tell them they have their head up their ass, but that probably won't change hearts or minds. :)<br />
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Thank you for letting me participate in this year's Hop Against Homophobia, Bi-, and Transphobia! Please comment for a chance to win... well, I'm not sure what you'll win. What would you like to win? An e-copy of one of my books? (Available for any of them except Dorm Porn 2; that's only in paperback.) A $20 donation in your name to Atlanta's LGBT youth shelter, Lost-n-Found? Some other LGBT-related prize worth up to $20? Please let me know in the comments. I really have no idea what would be good.<br />
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Thanks for reading!<br />
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<br />B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-68135200220715640452015-04-05T12:08:00.002-04:002015-04-05T12:08:52.460-04:00video: cat trails built into houseThis guy is my new hero. I'd try to hire him to build this in our house, but he'd have to bring his cats with him, and The Princess here wouldn't like that....<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="270" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/B21YtuOrKRI" width="480"></iframe>B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-9493866346190262352015-04-02T00:28:00.000-04:002015-04-02T00:30:10.849-04:00The Governor's Ride (Current-events-inspired fiction. Not Safe For Anywhere or Anyone)<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">short
fiction: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The
Governor's Ride <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">or <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Writing
Porn For My Own Amusement/To Keep Me From Getting Too Angry Over Current Events<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Despite being based on
current events, this story is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real
people, living or dead, is a shocking, shocking coincidence. Because fiction.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Warning: Smut with no
redeeming social value that should not be read by anyone. Author will not be
held responsible for psychological trauma resulting from reading this bad,
silly, smutty story which has not been beta-read, edited, or even read through
more than once.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Last chance to click
away to <a href="http://www.wikipedia.org/" target="_blank">something with actual value and no smut</a>!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="font-size: 18px;">Okay, you have chosen to proceed. <i>Caveat lector.</i></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">~*~~*~~*~~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Governor Mark Shillings
signed the bill in the same the reliable, masculine way he did everything in
his political life. The guests to the private signing applauded, then allowed
the Governor’s aides to herd them into a reception line. Mark then shook hands with
the guests as they left the office, careful to adjust his strength to match
that of each one. Some of the nuns’ hands felt like paper birds.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The last hand held out
to him was that of the rabbi. Mark was usually the tallest person in his
office, but this rabbi had a good three inches on him, and Mark had to look up
to meet his eyes as he shook that hand. The man’s grip was firm, its strength
reassuring Mark that he had done the right thing in signing the Religious
Freedom bill into law. Those citizens of his state who held deep and sincere
religious beliefs had to be protected from those filthy queers who wanted to
push their disgusting lifestyles on everyone else. Two male figures on a
wedding cake? It was practically blasphemy.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The rabbi was good
looking, albeit in a swarthy sort of way. He’d come by himself, the rest of his
colleagues denouncing the very bill meant to help them. Mark didn’t understand
that attitude at all. He was about to suggest that he and the rabbi talk about
it in further detail, perhaps over glasses of whiskey, but the rabbi pulled his
hand free from Mark’s unwittingly tight grip, gave him an odd look, and hurried
away.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mark sighed. Why was it
so difficult to make friends with men? Every time he tried, he was rebuffed, or
he’d had to do the rebuffing. A few times he’d approached a strong, attractive
man in his gym only to find out that the man was not what he had seemed. How
could it be? Everyone knew that homosexuals were slim, effeminate hairdressers
with lisps. Mark would never seek friendship with someone like that. He had
always dreamed of being a part of a group, a tribe, even, of men like himself:
sturdy, manly, strong and active. He and his tribe would go to ball games and
beer fests. They would play golf together. They’d go hiking and camping in the
woods, pushing their bodies to the limits during the day, and sleeping
shoulder-to-shoulder under a blanket of stars at night.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“You don’t need them,
sweetie,” his wife would console. “You’re <i>my</i> best friend, and
you always will be.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Christine was a gem. Mark
pushed aside his disappointment and concentrated on the law that would make his
name known throughout the entire country, maybe even the world. He couldn’t
have done it without his wife’s support. She deserved a little something. And
maybe with the help of one of his tiny blue friends, he’d give her a little something
else on top of that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">On the drive home,
something frilly in a display window caught his eye. “Pull over, Terry,” he
said. “I want to go into that store.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Sir, this isn’t the
best neighborhood,” his driver responded, glancing at his passenger in the
rear-view mirror. “You can get almost anything online these days—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Any package mailed to
the house gets opened by security, and I want to surprise the missus,” Mark
responded. “Just pull over. I won’t be very long.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Terry sighed and did as
ordered.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mark got out of the car
and entered the store. He hadn’t ever patronized this sort of business; the
only time he had been close to such a place was when he’d been twenty years old
and his Students for Moral Values group picketed a store that sold adult
videos, among other things.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">This store made the one
from his college days look like a Build-A-Bear workshop. The lacy, racy lingerie
in the window was eclipsed by the degenerate displays that assaulted his eyes
from every square foot. Leather! Metal! Some shiny material that looked like
paint, only with zippers and laces! DVDs on shelves and in bins, tiny bottles
of God-knows-what, and there, on the walls, the most hideous and unnatural
items of all….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Ah, I see you’re
interested in our dildos.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mark whipped his head
around to see who had spoken and found himself staring at a shoulder. He looked
up into the face of a man who appeared to be in his mid-forties, with crinkles
around his blue eyes, a neatly trimmed beard with a lot of silver in it, and
shoulders so broad they blocked out most of the store. Thankfully.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“No!” Mark protested,
lifting his hands and accidentally brushing them against the plaid shirt
covering the man’s firm, muscular chest. “I came in to ask about….” What <i>had</i> he
come in to ask about? What was so important that it had caused him to enter
this Den of Iniquity?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Wait, I know you,” the
man said, frowning at Mark. Then his face cleared. “You’re the governor!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“No!” Mark said again.
“I mean, yes. Excuse me.” He took a few deep breaths to get himself under
control, inhaling some of the man’s scent. Some woodsy cologne. Mark sniffed
again. It wasn’t half bad. He was about to ask the name of the cologne – maybe Christine would like it – when the man nodded.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I understand
completely, governor. Please come with me. We have a private room where VIPs
can browse our products at their leisure. I’m Alex, by the way, and I’ll be
happy to help you with anything you desire.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mark’s feet moved of
their own volition, following Alex past aisles of indescribable items, through
a door at the back of the store, and into an office. At least, Mark assumed it
was an office. It had a desk with a computer and a couple of chairs, but it
also had a strange padded bench taking up most of the space.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Please have a seat.
I’ll bring some items for you to look at,” Alex said, then left the room.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mark couldn’t get to
either of the chairs without climbing over the bench, so he sat gingerly on the
edge. It was really quite comfortable, but it had the strangest arm rests
sticking up at oblique angles. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Here we are,” Alex
said, entering the office. He dropped several items on the desk and began
opening the packaging. “I brought our best sellers in various sizes and types.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mark couldn’t look at
the items on the desk, but he couldn’t look away, either. They were all shaped
like erect penises. He couldn’t imagine what their purpose was, or why Alex
thought he had an interest in them. “I’m afraid there’s been a
misunderstanding,” he began, but Alex smiled.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I know it can be
embarrassing, but sometimes it’s easier to talk about your fantasies with a
stranger. You probably haven’t even mentioned anything to your wife, have you?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mark shook his head.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Lots of straight guys
like their wives or girlfriends to stimulate them this way. It’s nothing to be
ashamed of. Just basic biology.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Alex’s smile was so warm
and welcoming. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 18px;">He was exactly the sort of man Mark wanted to have as a friend, with his muscular physique and his confident attitude. Still, Mark needed to explain himself. </span><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“That’s not why I came in.”</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Why did you come in,
governor?” Alex ran both hands over his close-cropped hair and then down his
chest to his thighs. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">A fog filled Mark’s
mind. “I don’t remember.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Well, as long as you’re
here, how about a demonstration?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mark nodded, making no
protest when Alex had him stand up, step out of his pants and underwear, and
lay down on the bench. A straight-shooter like Alex wouldn’t steer him wrong.
He put his feet up – ah, foot rests, not arm rests! – on the raised pieces of
the bench. It was a remarkably comfortable position.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“This is a good model to
start with,” Alex said, holding up a piece of peach-colored silicone that was
slightly larger than Mark would get about twenty minutes after downing one of his
tiny blue friends. “Taste it.” He nudged the dildo – is that what Alex had
called it? – against Mark’s lips. Mark opened his mouth obediently. The
silicone was warm and pliable. It had no taste, and yet the feel of it, the
weight of it felt just right in Mark’s mouth. He ran his tongue over the dildo,
then gagged as Alex pushed it further into his mouth.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Oops, sorry about that,
sir,” Alex said, pulling it out. “My hand slipped.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“That’s all right,” Mark
said, then opened his mouth again, but Alex didn’t bring it back to his lips.
Instead, he held it up where Mark could see it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Good quality lube and
lots of it is important, especially for newbies.” Alex drizzled the dildo with
some clear liquid, then moved it out of Mark’s line of sight. “Try to relax,”
he said.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Why would Mark have to
relax? He wasn’t nervous at all, not with his new friend Alex to—<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Yikes!” Mark yelped as
something slid into his rectum. It was bigger than his doctor’s finger. Bigger
than that other doctor’s finger, too, when he went to get a second opinion
about his prostate. In fact, it was bigger than any of the fingers of any of
the doctors Mark had visited over the past three months to have his prostate examined.
Each doctor had told him the same thing: that his prostate was completely
normal. But a man couldn’t be too careful about his health.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Yeah, sorry, the lube
might be a little cold.” Alex pushed the dildo in deeper, up to the fake
testicles at its base. “It should be warming up now.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It was. Mark squirmed a
little. “You say lots of straight men buy this model?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Oh, yeah, tons of
them.” Alex worked the dildo in and out of Mark’s rectum. “But the next model
is even more popular.” He wiggled the dildo a little, then pulled it out and
set it on the desk. “Here, try this.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mark watched Alex squirt
lube onto a piece of silicone the same color as Christine’s Prada pumps from two
years ago. Then he sighed as the new dildo entered him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Little Mark seemed to
like it, too. He was still drooping against the crease of Mark’s thigh, but
definitely getting interested.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Wow, governor, I’m
impressed. I didn’t think you would be able to take it, but look at you go!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Thank you, Alex. That
means a lot coming from a man like you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Alex made a noise that
Mark couldn’t place, something between a snort and a cough.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Are you all right?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Yes, sir. Allergies.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The dildo slid in and
out, causing Little Mark to perk up even more. Mark hadn’t been this hard in
years, even with the help of his tiny blue friends. He reached down and touched
himself, marveling at his erection. He was up to almost three inches! If this
is what a dildo could do, sign him up!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Of course, Mark had to
give some credit to the man orchestrating all these pleasant feelings. Maybe Alex
could give Christine some pointers. He could come over for dinner some night,
there would be pleasant conversation, and then the three of them would retire
to Mark’s bedroom. Christine could sit and watch from a safe distance the first
time, or the first few times. Alex would loom over Mark like he was doing now,
his manly scent filling Mark’s nose.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“How much….” He
swallowed. “How much is this model?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Thirty-five dollars.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I’ll take it.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“But sir, you haven’t
even tried the others.” Alex pulled the dildo out of Mark’s rectum and shoved
another one in. This one was even bigger. The stretching, burning sensation
that resulted made Little Mark stand nearly upright. Mark covered himself with
one hand. It wouldn’t do to pleasure himself in front of a stranger. Best to
save that for Christine. She had wonderful hands, long, strong fingers that could
bring him to hardness almost half the time they attempted coitus.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“This one is fifty
dollars,” Alex said, getting Mark’s attention. “Now, check this out.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">There was a click, and
the dildo began to vibrate.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Oh!” Mark’s backdoor region
hummed along with the vibrations and despite his best intentions, he began to
massage himself. “This one. I’ll buy this one. Ah….”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I can’t let you decide
without trying our best-seller.” Alex said in his deep, sultry voice as he
pulled out the vibrator. “Meet ‘The Destroyer.’” He held up a deep purple
object as big as Mark’s forearm. A flip of a switch, and the thing began to
flop around like one of those inflatable tube men at a used car lot. Alex
flipped the switch off and grinned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Oh my!” Mark stared at
it. He couldn’t imagine how it would fit inside him, but he didn’t have to
imagine for long. A generous dollop of lube, some skillful waggling from Alex,
and the monster was in!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">It was so long, Mark
felt as if it were pushing against his lungs, and the stretch! Like a
basketball had been shoved up into him. A glorious, glorious basketball. When Alex
flipped the switch again, setting The Destroyer in motion, Mark nearly fell off
the bench.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Do you like it, sir?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Uh-uh-uh-uh-uh-uh…..”
The shaking was too much. He could barely speak.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Do you want me to
stop?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“NO-O-O-O-O!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“All right,” Alex said.
He took a step back and watched with a twinkle in his eye. “How does it make
you feel?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi-yi
fee-ee-ee-ee-ee-ll-ll-ll….” <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">How did it make him
feel? Like he was a rag doll being tossed about by unruly children. Like he was
being used for someone else’s pleasure. Like he was being forced to submit to a
madman, to perform the most undignified, basest, filthiest, sexiest acts imaginable!
He moved his hand faster, one hand encircling all three and a half inches of
his fully erect penis, and asked God to forgive him. But really, if God hadn’t
wanted him to enjoy himself, he wouldn’t have put this store, these objects,
and Alex in Mark’s path.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Is this the one you
want, sir?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Just another few
seconds….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Sir?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“YES!” Mark shouted. “I
want it! I want them all!” So close now….<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">The Destroyer stopped
moving and a second later, Alex pulled it out of Mark’s ass.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Wait, what….What are
you doing? Darn it all, why did you stop?” Mark screeched. “Put it back!” But
it was already too late. Little Mark shriveled and shrunk back to its usual
flaccidity. “Why did you stop?” he moaned.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Governor.” Alex’s
expression was no longer warm and amused. His eyes looked like melted artic ice
might look if climate change were a real thing and not just a liberal
conspiracy. “I stopped because I cannot sell you any of these items. It’s
against my sincerely held religious beliefs to do business with theocrats. And
because you signed that bill into law today, I’m perfectly within my rights to
tell you to put your dick away, pull your pants up, and get the hell out of my
store.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mark blinked at him a
few times, not quite able to process what he was hearing. He continued to lie
on the bench until Alex shouted “Go!” Then he rolled off the bench, got his
pants on and zipped up, and stumbled out of the office, running straight into
Terry.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Sir! You were gone so
long, I was getting worried. Are you all right?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Let’s go,” Mark said,
hurrying toward the front doors. Lube squelched out of his rectum with every
step, no matter how he tried to clench to hold it in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Sir, are you sure—”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“I don’t want to talk
about it! You’re paid to drive the darn car, so pipe down and drive!”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Terry’s face went blank.
“Yes, sir.” He opened the door for Mark, who got in.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Once home, Mark went
straight to his room to change out of his soggy pants. That night, he tried to recreate the experience Alex had
given him by using his fingers, a carrot, a cucumber, and the handle of his
Titleist 9-iron, but nothing came close. He spent the early hours of the
morning going from website to website searching for vibrators, putting them
into shopping carts, then removing them and closing his browser before opening it
again and starting the search anew. He fell asleep with his hands still on the keyboard.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">A knock on his door woke
him. Mark wiped the drool from his cheek and looked at the clock. Eleven AM? He
sat up just as his aide entered the room.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Sir, I think you should
come downstairs.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“What’s wrong, Josh?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“There’s a delivery for
you.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mark got up, put a robe
on, and went downstairs. On the kitchen island was a large, clear plastic bag,
and inside of it were…oh, dear God, the items Alex had used on him.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">All of them. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Including The Destroyer.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">And staring at that clear
plastic bag was his wife. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Uhhhh….” was all that
came out of Mark’s mouth. It seemed to have lost its connection to his brain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“There’s a note,” Josh
whispered. He pointed to a piece of paper Christine was holding.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mark tugged the note
free from his wife’s white-knuckled grip. His hand shook as he read it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Dear Governor Shillings,</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">I would like to apologize for my behavior last
night. It was unconscionable to lead you to believe I would treat you like any
other customer and then turn you away so callously. I believe that everyone
should be treated equally, fairly, and with dignity, but last night I allowed
my anger to get in the way of my business practices and, much worse, my
integrity.</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">After a night of soul-searching, I have decided
that the least I can do to try to make amends is to offer you the items you
enjoyed so much when I demonstrated them on you, or rather, <u>in</u> you.
Therefore, please accept the contents of this package as my gift to you. I hope
you will have no hard feelings (except the good kind <wink>), and I will
be happy to serve you again <u>personally</u> any time you visit the
store in the future.</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Sincerely,</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Alex O’Toole</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Owner, O’Toole’s Pleasure Emporium</span></i><span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin: 0in 0in 0.0001pt 0.5in; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“Mark?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Mark swallowed and
looked up at his wife. “Yes, dear?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">Christine narrowed her
eyes. “Would you care to explain this?”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">A bag full of sinful
ecstasy, right there within his reach, and he couldn’t lay a finger on it.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">“No, dear, I would not.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 13.5pt;">~ the end ~<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
</div>
B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-31585862936074333222015-03-19T18:32:00.003-04:002015-03-19T18:32:58.272-04:00I almost forgot! Happy dance driving through The Square last weekendD'oh! I meant to post about this before and I completely forgot. As I was driving towards Marietta Square last weekend, I saw two young guys walking down the sidewalk holding hands. I have to admit, I stared, but only to make sure of what I was seeing. <br />
<br />
<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/AVvXsEi1nLXhlcpwDCMYihucvSbpr8qHjoajPeqb8VNU-eZC31PAFyWup6NsVJIEfFrI0AokLReLgO2DDcdBjEyBFRgHYMfDVhnLaL2HP_-J1Kiqn4hdCZfo_GKWCLAWkhJdAdUDJmqtR7A_Mwrl/s1600/marietta+square.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1nLXhlcpwDCMYihucvSbpr8qHjoajPeqb8VNU-eZC31PAFyWup6NsVJIEfFrI0AokLReLgO2DDcdBjEyBFRgHYMfDVhnLaL2HP_-J1Kiqn4hdCZfo_GKWCLAWkhJdAdUDJmqtR7A_Mwrl/s1600/marietta+square.jpg" height="149" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This side of the street, but further north</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<br />
<br />
See, whatcha gotta understand is, Marietta is the county seat of Cobb County, and in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/1993/08/29/us/county-s-anti-gay-move-catches-few-by-surprise.html" target="_blank">1993, the county's Board of Commissioners passed a resolution condemning homosexuality</a>. In 2004, Georgia voters passed a ban on same sex marriage, 76% to 24%. So historically, "the gay" has not been too welcome 'round these parts.<br />
<br />
It's nice to see things change for the better. As I was looking for exact dates/numbers for the info above, I came across this headline: "Health care benefits OK’d: Employees in same-sex marriages can expand plan following council’s 5-2 vote." (article is <a href="http://www.mdjonline.com/view/full_story/26324975/article-Health-care-benefits-OK-d--Employees-in-same-sex-marriages-can-expand-plan-following-council-s-5-2-vote" target="_blank">here</a>) And okay, it's about Smyrna, our neighbor to the south, not Marietta, but it's progress!<br />
<br />
Last weekend I did a little happy dance in the car after I passed that couple and drove on through The Square. I hope I get to do a lot more little happy dances.B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-12985239412554169412015-03-18T21:43:00.001-04:002015-03-18T21:44:27.944-04:00Spring! Is here, Spring is here....<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="344" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yhuMLpdnOjY" width="459"></iframe>B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3402411923389258719.post-26737034254465005462015-03-16T12:48:00.002-04:002015-03-16T12:48:18.340-04:00Spring haiku<br />
A haiku for March 16, 2015, in Georgia:<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
Trees in bloom at last</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
Daffodils waft their sweet scent</div>
<div style="text-align: center;">
It's about damn time</div>
B Snowhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01304570440654790940noreply@blogger.com0