Ying and Yang

Dear Readers,

Well, the WFTDA Championships are over.  It was a fantastic weekend of officiating--I got to work with a great crew of officials and watch two other great crews officiate.  OK, really it was like I was on a Dream Team--the level of officiating was really high for every bout, and I was so proud to be a part of it.  You know what I'm talking about, right?  Being a part of an incredible weekend that you never want to end because just about every part of it was SO. FRICKIN. AWESOME!  Yeah, that's how it was.  I mean, nobody would notice this cool little "covering refs during the slow game" choreography that my penalty tracker and I magically came up with during a bout.  It worked fantastically, was beautiful, and totally geeked out my non-skating officiating self.  

It was just nice to be in my element--to know that I could do a good job and was doing a good job.  That I could opine for hours about best practices for non-skating positions and have everyone around me want to do the same.

I'll have to try to hold onto those feelings because I'm heading back down the slide of rejection into my writer's world.  This is a world I also love, but in which I usually don't feel so confident.  Take today, when I received another rejection.  It was actually a really nice rejection, but nonetheless, I felt a little sting, a little taste of inadequacy, a little feeling like I don't really know what I'm doing.  

However, I didn't become a good NSO by sitting on my butt and watching the action.  I only learned by doing.  I just have to keep that in mind when I'm writing.  It takes a lot of practice to write a decent piece, and you're going to have to get rejected a few times before you succeed.  I don't relish the thought, but I'm stuck with the way this world works.  

Sigh.

Your pal, 

Jill

P.S.--Thanks for sitting through yet another pep talk to myself.  Things have been slow, so I've felt the need to have a lot of them lately.

Who's It All About?

Dear Readers,

I had a bit of a meltdown last night.  The Boy and I like being all civic-minded, so we went to a Parks & Recreation meeting.  Our town is renovating a park; we'd like a fitness trail sort of installation nearby; it made sense.

The evening turned out to be two meetings.  The first was a regular department update, and the second was about this park.

I'll admit, I don't know much about what our town offers.  I've looked up some stuff on the town website, but I haven't found much that's available for someone like me to get involved in.  Apparently, that's because there isn't.  In my town, if you're out of high school and aren't a male over 30 who wants to play on a basketball league, the Parks & Recreation Department has nothing to offer you.  That's right, every class and sports league is for the children.

I've had this rant before.  I get tired of all of our energy going toward the children.  And what happens if you get someone who was really involved with the Parks' program, then graduated from high school and maybe doesn't go to college.  He's around town still, but can't sign up for the activities he used to do.  Welcome to adulthood!

Granted, the department director was well aware of the fact that the offerings for adults were weak and wants to fix that.  It'll just take time and help from us.

OK.  I can deal with that--though it would be nice to have some sort of adult classes through the Parks & Recreation Department, because they tend to be pretty cheap.  Adults do have plenty of opportunities for continuing ed--there's an arts center in town and plenty of other adult ed centers in the surrounding towns and cities.  However, these classes can be pretty pricey--and by that I mean that a several-week class can be way over $100, if not closer to $200.  If you're on a tighter budget, this isn't doable for you.

I'm not asking for the world--just something like a 4-week drawing class for $50.  It doesn't have to be from a master--an art student would be a fine teacher for a class like this.  Just something basic so that I can try it and see if I like it, without breaking the bank.  Is that so hard to provide?

So if the first meeting wasn't disheartening enough, the second one certainly was.  This was the latest in a series of meetings about how to refurbish this park and make it useful.  The drawings presented showed a t-ball diamond, a playground, and a hockey court among all the features.  All things for designed for kids.

As the conversation went along, it became more obvious that the space was intended for children.  One woman complained because even though she didn't mind kids, she didn't want them to be so loud in her backyard.  A little while later, the Boy mentions having some fitness stations for adults, and the designer talks about those a little bit (i.e.--fitness stations work better when they're along a jogging path).  Then I can't help myself and talk about having a space for adults, and how we can't find a frickin' chin-up bar in this town (there is one in the next town over, which I happily stumbled upon one day, but I'm of the opinion that every town needs to have at least one chin-up bar).  Of course, I get that slightly emotional tinge to my voice, and I just have to shut up.

The meeting winds up, and we talk to a lovely woman who tells us that our town is made up of waves of immigrants, so they pretty much worked and reared children--they didn't have time for their own extra-curriculars, so why should the town provide them.  It makes sense, but I still didn't like it....and then as I thought about it in the car, I kind of lost it.

Not a great moment for me, but I just hit my point where I felt that once again, I didn't matter.  I'm tired of not mattering.  I'm going through a little low patch with my writing right now, and I'm dealing with a lot of rejection/no money coming in (or not knowing when the outstanding money is ever showing up).  I don't work around other people, so I don't have a ton of regular contact with the outside world.  I'm a woman, and there are times where it feels that I don't matter as much because of that (another post for another day, but you ever notice on a reality competition show that a woman will say something like, "I really want a woman to win!" and it's OK for her to say that.  A guy never says, "I want a guy to win!").  And--of course--I don't have children.  Sigh.

A few minutes later, the Boy joked me back to normal.  Or at least normal, with a hint of bitterness.

Your pal,
Jill

P.S.--I'm heading to Chicago for Uproar by the Lakeshore, the WFTDA Championships.  I may not post regularly through Wednesday, but I'll do my best to touch base.

A Sure Repeal?

Dear Massachusetts Liquor Store Owners,

Congratulations!  The ballot question to repeal the state alcohol tax passed!  Now comes the interesting part--the part where we voters have to be diligent about making sure this measure benefits us too. 

The repeal goes into effect on January 1, 2011.  What I hope to see--and I think all of us who voted for the repeal want to see--is that the final receipt is lower than what I've been paying.  I don't want to walk into a liquor store in January and suddenly see that all of the alcohol is priced a little higher than what it's priced at now.  Then it doesn't matter if the tax is gone--I'm still paying the same amount.

I'm actually worried that you'll pull the whole bait and switch move, so I'll be watching the prices and seeing if the repeal actually makes the difference I voted for.  Look, you know I was on your side.  Now let's hope that you're on mine.  If not, fine.  I'll keep taking my money to New Hampshire.

Your pal,
Jill

Dear Non-Profits,

I've got enough address labels now.  You can quit sending them.

Honestly, I'd considered ordering some from a stationery place when I first moved, but right away I got all sorts of fun address labels from you....actually more labels than I can use for a while.

So, you can stop sending them.  Even you, March of Dimes, who actually sent me a dime.  It's so rare that I get paid to open my mail.  Nice touch!

Really, though.  I budget my annual giving to organizations I care about.  Not that I think the organizations who send me labels aren't doing good work, it's just that I only have so much money, and it just doesn't spread out as far as I'd like.

I know you hope the address labels entice me to send you a little cash, but they don't.  I use them, sure, but that's about it.  Apparently they're an effective fundraising tool for somebody though, because you still use this tactic.

Just take my name off your list before you send out another mailing.  It'll save us both some trouble.

Thanks.

Your pal,
Jill

The Not-In-The-Tourist-Guide Adventure

Dear Readers,

If the Boy and I have nothing planned for the weekend, we like to have an "Adventure."  We have a lot of places we want to explore in our new home region, so if we schedule an Adventure, we're more likely to do them.

We've had some good ones so far:

• Freedom Trail
• National Heritage Museum for the Jim Henson exhibit (which is in Chicago now.  GO!  GO!  GO!  It's really cool (and made me a little verklempt---I still kind of get worked up over the fact that Henson died way too early))
• New Hampshire for biathlon and America's Stonehenge
• Newport for the fancy mansions 
• Providence for Italian and pumpkins in the zoo
• and others!

This Saturday, we were talking about what adventure to have this weekend, when I noticed a scab just below my left knee.  I took a closer look--well, I went to pick at it, because that's what I do, and as the Boy was yelling at me not to pick it, I realized it was moving.

I had a tick.  A TICK!

Being a mostly city person, I've never had a tick before.  We don't live too far from nature now, though, so I've been trying to acclimate myself to becoming a little more outdoorsy, which means more walking among the trees.

On Friday, I had to drive the Boy to work, and on my way home, I stopped at a conservation area to take a little walk.  It was nice (we've had gorgeous sunny weather lately--a little cold, but the sun is so nice I don't mind), but uneventful.  I wandered through trees and a field.  Didn't run into anybody--except a 4 1/2 month old puppy who bounded up to me to say hello.

And 24 hours later, I spotted the tick, happily feasting on my blood.

I'm not going to deny that there was a little freak out on my part.  I've never had a tick, and the news around here is that deer ticks with Lyme disease are becoming more prevalent in these parts.  Nothing like the thought of a little Lyme to make the morning exciting!

The Boy got the tick out, and we quickly sent it to a boozy death by drowning it in alcohol.  The bite immediately looked like a bulls' eye, so we called the walk-in clinic at the local hospital to see what to do.

Of course, this meant that we spent a chunk of the afternoon at the walk-in clinic.  

I've had a couple of big fears since moving to Boston:

1. Which one of us will get the first dings on the car/get into a fender bender
2. Which one of us will have to go to the ER first?

Number two's basically been answered:  Me.  Sure, the walk-in clinic isn't the ER, but it's close enough. It wasn't an awful experience--just a wait, a look at the bite, and a prescription doled out.  The doctor didn't think it was anything to worry about, but he wanted to give me a two-pill dose just to make sure it didn't develop into Lyme (because that would be bad. Just ask novelist Amy Tan).

So far, so good.  I don't really think anything else will happen with this incident, but it does make me think twice about randomly walking in the woods without making sure a tick doesn't have an easy way to burrow in.

Hope your weekends were better!

Your pal,

Jill

What Doesn't Kill You...

Dear Readers,

For the last few weeks, I've been a little worried about work.  Things have been a little slow for me, so I'm trying to generate some new assignments.  That's a little hard, but hopefully I'm starting to master the pitch letter and will get some ideas published.

It's a little hard not to get down about this, but luckily my friend Reikko-san popped up at just the right time with an idea:  Let's do NaNoWriMo together!

NaNoWriMo is short for National Novel Writing Month, which is held every November.  It's designed to help you write the first draft of a novel--just spit it out and get it done.  The goal is to write 50,000 words in 30 days.  

It's a challenge, but it can be done--and many people have managed to sell their novels too, so if you work hard during the month, you can definitely come up with a sellable piece of work.  Sure, you have to spend some time editing and rewriting, but at least you've finished the hard part.

I tried NaNoWriMo a couple of years ago and didn't finish the 50,000 words.  That will change this year.  The people behind the project recommend telling people about it so that you can get a lot of support throughout the month (especially when your initial enthusiasm wears off and you've got to slog away at it).  They're probably right, so I'm telling you all about it up front.  I'll check in regularly and keep you posted on how it's going.  More about the novel next week--I'm trying to work out a few plot points, so once I have those, I can tell you more what it's about.

Are any of you doing NaNoWriMo?  If so, look me up (jilljaracz), and we can be writing buddies!

Your pal,

Jill

How Many Bags?

Dear Grocery Store Baggers,

You know those reusable totes?  They're a little sturdier than the plastic bag, and therefore hold more than a plastic bag.

I'm just letting you know because when I got home from my grocery trip today--with some of my items in plastic bags (not counting my dish soap--I appreciate that being separated from the foodstuffs) and plenty of room in the totes for groceries, I was a little peeved.  Why use the plastic, when there was still enough tote available?

Look, I'm just trying to do my part to keep my plastic bag consumption lower.  Please help me out here!

Thanks,
Your pal,
Jill

Lack of Service

Dear Rajat Suri,

I read about your company E la Carte, which is an electronic menu board.  On paper, the concept sounds like it might be useful:  Tablet computers that serve as menus (mainly in sit-down restaurants).  Customers can place their order and pay directly through the tablet.  No more waiting for the server to take your order (especially if the server takes your order incorrectly) or bring your check.  And if you want to add on dessert, it's really easy to do that partway through your meal.  Plus, the tablet has games on it, so you can play while you wait.

Supposedly the tablet will help cut down on service errors and increase check amount--thereby increasing tip amounts.

Maybe I don't frequent the restaurants you're targeting with this product, but if I'm placing the order myself, and I'm generating the receipt, the server just becomes a glorified food runner.  I'm likely to start tipping 10% then, not the 15-20%/leaning toward 20%, that I do now.  Plus, I like interacting with my server.  If I have questions, the server can answer them.  The server can tell me what's good and what's not.  It's the server who makes the restaurant experience what it is.

Nonetheless, I can't fault an entrepreneur for trying, so best of luck to you.  One thing though--could you keep a client list on your website so I know which places to avoid?  Thanks!

Your pal,
Jill