Writing a Haiku
I might stinkin’ mess it up
Poems – not my thing.

Is that technically right? I know it doesn’t have the vivid imagery some have, but I don’t think I’ve tried it since, like, high school. It seems that everyone is writing them lately, they are popping up all over the place, so of course I HAD to try it. I’m not one to back away from a perceived challenge to my intelligence. I’m insecure and defensive like that.

 I received this lovely award from my favorite blogging bear, Ug, at http://themusingsofug.blogspot.com. According to the rules of this prestigious award, I’m supposed to tell 7 little known facts about myself. This is difficult since everything that is on my mind spills right out for everyone to see…but I shall try.
1. I am left-handed and right-brained…it explains so much.
2. I have never tried an illegal substance (that I’m aware of). I’m neither proud or ashamed of this fact…it’s partly from my wanting to please the Lord and partly from my overwhelming fear of addiction (to which I’m prone).
3. At different points in my youth, I considered being a teacher, a nurse, an interior decorator…but my secret dreams were actress, singer/dancer, artist……I’m finally pursuing one of those.
4. The thing I wanted most in this life was to be a wife and mother, and I’m so grateful to have done both (with mixed success, but still…)
5. I haven’t given up the dream of being a pilot.
6. I am afraid of heights (parachuting and bungee-jumping will not be in my future), and the two ways I fear dying the most are burning or drowning.
7. I would love to spend a month touring Italy.

The other criteria of this award is that I’m to pass it on to someone else…so without further ado, I present it to my blog-mother, Sarah K, at http://mountaineermusings.com ,without whom I would be clueless in the world of blog. Her persistence and longevity in this art form are an inspiration to me…as well as her wit and humor!

Reading Sarah K’s post today about  one of her many pets…My sweetest…it made me think of my poor dead kitty who died suddenly last winter. I decided to post the poem I wrote in my sadness.

Ode to a Dead Cat

Nuisance, I barely knew you,
you were a strange but lovable beast.
You showed up out of nowhere
shortly after we bought our tiny, ugly house.
It seemed fitting that the old dwelling
would have a pushy cat to go with it,
and with it you seemed to go,
as you would never leave,
even when we chucked rocks at you
to scare you away.
Frank felt bad about doing that,
so he started feeding you behind my back.
When I found out he was feeding you dogfood
out of pity, I named you Nuisance
and bought you some catfood.
You snuck in to the house
whenever you could slip past us
or push the door open
and you would go straight to the room
that was Bailey’s…the old lady
who was the previous owner
must have let you sleep on her bed.
You began your meowing at 5am,
if anyone was stirring…6 if all was quiet.
We had to hide the dog and catfood in
a locking trash can or you would
rip the bag open at the bottom to snack
or just jump inside if it was a big bag.
Your favorite trick was to flop yourself down
on your back right in our paths,
either wanting a rub
or secretly trying to make us break our necks
(I never knew which).
Many a time, I nearly fell trying not to step on you
cursing you mildly under my breath
thinking about kicking you across the yard.
You learned the hard way to time your flop
a few feet further away, avoiding getting squished.
You loved nothing better than to have your head scratched,
yet you would bite the hand doing the scratching,
playfully of course.
If I worked in the garage
you would jump on a box or a shelf
as close to my head as possible
then bat at my hair until I would pet you.
You brought me gifts of mice heads
and a few entrails and laid them
right in front of the washer in the basement
where you knew I would always return,
until you got too fat and lazy and stopped hunting.
You chased away other cats
not wanting to share the scanty attention you received,
and there was no such thing as too much petting
or too much attention
except from the neighborhood kids…
Unblinking stare with those green eyes,
twitchy tail when irritated,
insistent meowing when hungry or lonely
or cold.
You were my first cat,
and though I may someday have another,
you are irreplaceable in my heart.
I’ll miss you, you stupid cat.

Hi, my name is Ann, and I’m a video-game-aholic. Hi, Ann. It all started when my oldest child was five, and we bribed him to stop sucking his finger with a Nintendo (original). I started playing Mario Brothers with him and we both spent hours playing. He would play all day if we let him, so we had to limit his playing to two hours per day. I would then play some after he went to bed at night. We beat the game at about the same time. I then moved on (with him) to Mario Brothers 2, then 3, and it seemed harmless enough. I mean, after all, it was something we enjoyed doing together. The fact that I was a thirty-something woman spending huge amounts of time playing video games with my son didn’t bother me in the least…although his friends thought it was odd and pretty funny.

We went on to other games, like Marble Madness, some of which I didn’t take to, others that would become total obsessions with me. Oh, I was able to get my regular stuff done around the house, keep my family fed and in clean clothes, but my free time was taken up with playing the games…being the best at the games. I sort of lost touch with them for a while as I was working part-time…I just didn’t have time to spend on them…but they were always lurking in the background. By the time our youngest son was about 12, we had upgraded to Super Nintendo, then Nintendo 64, then the Game Cube. Youngest son liked games I cared nothing for, like Tony Hawk and James Bond (I was never into shooting and blood…I just liked stomping on things and squishing them).

Then came the fateful day in the spring of 2006, when my sister introduced me to Animal Crossing. She was really into it and was so enthusiastic about how cute and fun it was that I decided to give it a try. Thanks a lot, Sis. I quickly became completing involved in the game…catching fish and bugs, planting trees, harvesting fruit, doing little chores for the other town residents, collecting furniture sets. Ahhhh, even now, I miss the thrill of finding something new, collecting that one more song for my stereo. I played that game for one solid year, off and on, mostly on…it was so fun. But even my youngest, who had become a teenager, could tell it was an unhealthy obsession. He even hid the game from me a few times, trying to help me overcome the addiction. I finally got to the point where the game had lost its appeal…I mean I had done pretty much everything you could do and if I kept playing it would be just to get those last two songs and the last few pieces of furniture I was missing.

Then I was introduced to Pogo.com, which was fun but I didn’t like having to pay for my fix. My daughter convinced me to give Facebook a try, and since quite a few of my friends are on there, I gave in after a while but I didn’t think I’d like it. Oh, I was so wrong. Not only do I get to keep in touch with people that I love and never get to see, there is a whole world of fun games…………bad idea.

Now we come to Day Two of my challenge to myself to NOT play any computer or video OR DS games for a whole week. I will admit that yesterday at least three times I almost caved and went on to play. The only thing that stopped me was the fact that I publicly (on here) said I wasn’t going to, and it would be tooooooooo embarrassing to fall off the wagon on the first day. And I’m way too honest to pretend I’m sticking to it if I’m not. I’m in trouble! The good news is that the boredom produced by NOT having a time-killer is that I finished my watercolor (well, I have about 30 minutes left on it)…I may post it later, we’ll see. I’m not too keen on sharing my stuff, but I know I need to get over that…

Whew, it’s great to get that off my chest. I feel so much lighter…now, what are those 12 steps?

Yesterday…ah, yesterday. I was having my own little pity-party yesterday, after I discovered several more blogs among people I know. I guess what really bothers me is that these are people I know pretty well, so when I told them I was starting a blog, why didn’t I hear, “Oh really, I do one too.” It’s not like it’s any big secret, right? It’s there for the whole public to see…but I discovered them by accident. My feelings were hurt. Whatever…

The other reason I get discouraged is when I read other blogs by people who are REALLY GOOD writers, who are interesting and funny and make even the most mundane moments in their lives something you can’t wait to read about. I fear I will never get to that point. More than anything else, I fear being boring…and my fears are soooo realized.

But my DD and niece are right. I started this for myself, because I have an urge to write and I need a way to make myself more accountable to my year-long goal. It doesn’t matter whether anyone else reads it or not, it doesn’t even matter that it’s completely boring and predictable. I must write, and I will. Who knows, maybe I’ll even get better! Incurable optimist that I am…