September 10th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good morning! Well,it wasn't as terrible as I thought it would be, nothing usually is. My "dentures" didn't slip, my tongue didn't get fat, and I believe I gave coherent replies, and it all got done in one take. This was an interview for a cable TV show about writers, and I was just one of MANY writers being interviewed. Basically they asked five questions, and you are allowed fifteen second responses to each. Not every answer will be aired.

The funny thing is, even though Princeton is only a few miles away, I won't be able to see the show when it airs because we don't get the cable station it's going to be on. I'll have to wait until they post it on YouTube. I'll give you folks the link when I get it.

Jamie Lee (not me, but the haircut
and color is really close).

Somehow I think the replies I’m going to get from you will have more to do with my hair than with the actual interview. I’m not sure if I told you this already or not – old tymers setting in – but I don’t look like the picture on my site anymore. That photo was taken a year ago April, so it’s NOT an old picture. However since the picture was taken, the psoriasis I have been dealing with since I was sixteen years old has spread to my scalp, and it has actually become painful to dye my hair; not just for the half hour they dye is on my head, but for a week or more after it has been colored.

So, I stopped coloring my hair, something I had been doing since I was seventeen when the grey started showing up. Not only is my hair no longer auburn, it is also short. I mean really short, still, even after is has been growing out for two months. Whatever, I don’t mind it short, it’s easier; and for some inexplicable reason, the grey hair makes me look a little thinner and younger. It makes no sense at all, but I’m okay with it.

After the interview, we had our normal writing group meeting. It was a lot of fun as usual – even with the camera following us around. I got up to the meeting while they were doing the first prompt, so I had less than ten minutes to finish it. I am going to give you guys the same prompt today, and I’m going to post my reply to the prompt, because this one hit me hard. I had to have someone else in the group read it for me, because I got too choked up to finish reading it out loud.

There were a couple of other damp eyes in the room as well. One of the guys in the group said, “You did that in less than ten minutes??”, and all I could do is shrug. I saw the prompt, the image and scene flashed in front of my eyes, and through the tears, I typed. This has happened several times while I have been writing my novels, but it has never happened during a writing prompt.

I wasn’t the only one who brought the group to tears last night either. My friend Sue got everyone choked up with her reply to a different prompt. The prompt was a line taken from a short story by Anton Chekhov – “The old house had to be pulled down, that a new one might be built in its place.” – and Sue’s response was from the viewpoint of a woman who is standing in the burnt out shell of her home. It was a powerful piece, and again, done in a ten minute time frame.

After “class” was over, I was able to convince only two to come splurge on ice cream with me. Well, technically only Sue and I got Ice Cream, Freida just sat with us. Sue only stayed for fifteen or twenty minutes, but Freida and I remained at the table chatting… and chatting…and chatting. Before we know it, two hours had gone by, and I felt so guilty because Freida lives over an hour away, so she wouldn’t be getting home until well after midnight. We were having such a good time, we lost track of the time.

Okay, even though Dani is not going to school today, I still have to go make Paulie his lunch so I should go. Oh my goodness, I just realized I didn’t update you on Dani. Real quick – she does have a concussion, she is out of school for the remainder of the week at least – she is on strict rest – she is not allowed to watch TV, read, do homework, text. It is going to be an interesting week around here.

Gotta boogie, so TTFN. I hope you have an awesome day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge is:

Spare some change please?

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.

Here was my response:

Please Sir, can you spare some change? Please don’t look at me like that, you do not know how much it cost me to have to ask you. There are days when my pride stands in the way, and I simply go hungry. And if it was only me, I probably would go hungry for another day or two, but it’s not. Jax here has not been feeling too well lately, and I don’t want hunger to make him any weaker. I don’t know what I would do if he were to die. There’s been far too much death in my life, I couldn’t bear any more.

You see, Jax is a lot like me. We both have a big heart, but we’re both broken. Him from the rough start to life he got on the streets, and me from the war. It’s been five years now since we’ve been out here, me and my wingman Jax. I can talk to him, tell him the horrors I’ve seen, and he just listens, never judges. Often times, he licks the tears from my face, and lets me know that things will be alright. He doesn’t care when I stare off into space for hours on end, simply sits beside me. He doesn’t complain when I cry out in the night, just snuggles closer and makes me feel safe. There is never any anger, disappointment or recrimination in his eyes. He’s the only living creature on this earth who loves me unconditionally. So please Sir, can you spare any change?

September 9th Challenge

Hi it’s Christina –

Good morning! Well we’ve had our fair share of excitement around here in the past sixteen hours.

I had to run to Costco yesterday afternoon to refill a prescription for Dani. When I placed the call for the refill, the automated response told me there were no more refills (the doctor goofed and didn’t count correctly, there should have been four more). I hit the button for them to call the doctor, and then thought nothing of it. When I picked up the last prescription, they didn’t mention there were no more refills. I handed Dani the stapled bag from the pharmacy, so I never saw the prescription, and Dani’s fifteen, she didn’t notice the handwritten note on the prescription stating it had no more refills.

Costco faxed the doctor’s office at 6:00 am and then sent an electronic script at 9:30. The doctor never responded. I get to Costco around 4:30, and there’s no prescription. We call the office and the answering service puts us on hold for TWENTY minutes. We finally get through and they said they will notify the doctor, but if we don’t hear from them in twenty minutes we should call back. Twenty minutes later we call back and are put on hold for another fifteen minutes. The answering service tries again. Half an hour later, still no response from the doctor. The pharmacist himself calls, the doctor still does not respond.

After two hours, I leave my number with the pharmacist, and ask him to call me if he hears from the doctor. Dani wasn’t feeling well, and she had homework to do. I couldn’t wait around all night, and I’m glad we left when we did, because the pharmacist never called, which means the doctor never called him back, so now I have to deal with that today.

Later in the evening, Dani sees a post, on some social media site, about a murder in our town. I jump online to see if I can find any information. Nothing. I posted a comment on Facebook to see if anyone else had heard anything or if it was just a hoax. As of this morning, there are still no details, and there is no breaking news story posted anywhere; but folks who live in the area do confirm there was a lot of police activity, a body was removed from the home, and the county prosecutor was at the scene, so it’s not looking good. Our sleepy little town just ain’t what it used to be.

Dani has been complaining about a headache since Friday night. She was at a friend’s house, lying on a pillow, on the floor, next to him while he was playing a video game. He jumped during the game and elbowed her in the head by accident. Today when she went to school, the gym teacher sent her to the nurse because he was convinced Dani has a concussion. She’s home now, laying down. I have to wait until 9:00 to call the doctor.

Also, I have to go to work today. RV has an 11:30 appointment, so I have to figure that into the mix. Then I have to run to Costco to hopefully pick up Dani’s prescription, rush home, make dinner, shower dress and (UGH) put on make-up, because I have to leave early to get to Princeton; the TV interview is tonight at 6:30. All of this on roughly three hours of sleep. Yeah, I’m going to look absolutely lovely on TV tonight.

Good grief! Between the lack of sleep, the stress of what’s going on with Dani, compounded with the stress of FTQ still not being finished and the publisher calling on Friday, I’m going to lose my mind. I’m in serious need of a nap, and it’s only 9:00 am.

Okay, it’s nine, which means I have doctors’ offices to call, so I should go. I hope you have a wonderful day, and happy writing!

Your Next Challenge is:

Use the following: An open window, A spilled glass, An empty bed

You have ten minutes (be honest). There is no right or wrong, just write. Spelling and punctuation don’t count, and NO ONE is allowed to criticize what someone else has written. Go.