Category: Random

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random, Uncategorized

Friday Fare: Excuses, regeneration, and shenanigans

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is where I post links to the random articles that have resonated with me during the week. Sometimes they make me smarter, sometimes they make me hungry … sometimes they have to do with writing and sometimes they are just plain random.

I’ve had a wonderful week that hasn’t left much room for reading, outside of books I’m trying to get through and the regular news / gossip that I consume on a daily basis.  Last weekend, my mom and I took a girls weekend and went shopping.  Which was ridiculous – I’m not fond of shopping, but I adore my mother, so the opportunity to just hang out with her (something that doesn’t happen a lot now that *I’m* a mom) was wonderful.

On Tuesday, I had dinner with a dear friend of mine who’s a watercolor artist.  We respect each others’ creative processes and we’re kindred spirits, so hanging out with Cathy is just a treat.

This weekend, I have a phone date with my former college roommate / soul sister.  She’s a ridiculously awesome and busy corporate attorney, so our phone dates are infrequent, but necessary.  And then the Urban Family is coming over for dinner on Sunday, so that’s another event that I need to prepare for.  But hey – the holiday cards are stamped and addressed, my Christmas presents are basically purchased and are just waiting to be wrapped, so I’m (tentatively) ahead of the eight-ball.

Unfortunately, this busy period (and my regular work deadlines) are hell on my writing regimen.  But other than figuring out how to clone myself or inventing one of J.K. Rowling’s “time-turners,” I gotta figure out where I can carve out more writing time and how I can better guard that time.  Because yes – I’m very busy, but I also spend way too much time on social media.  So the time is there – just gotta work on the discipline part.  But having said all these things, I’ve so enjoyed the time I’ve been spending with friends and family lately, I think it’s recharging my mind in different ways.

***

Listening to: Prince did a killer cover of Radiohead’s “Creep.”  Check it out here.

Reading: Just finished Alexandra Sokoloff’s “Huntress Moon,” the first of her FBI Thriller series.  Sokoloff is known in the fiction world for taking the lessons she learned from screenwriting in Hollywood and utilizing them in fiction.  I’m not sure if that background knowledge that was in my head when I was reading “Huntress Moon” or if this is just the reality of my life, but I really read books anymore as a writer.  I’m intrigued to see how a writer described a character or unraveled a plot line.  Very fascinating.

Fiction Update: I was feeling antsy the other day and I realized that too much time had passed since I had worked on edits for “Dragonfly.”  (And “too much time” is only a matter of days, but that’s how I feel about writing on a daily basis.  [Sidenote: Wish I felt this way about exercise. Sigh!])  So I tackled a chapter and it didn’t go great.  But … I’m going to back the truck up and take another run at it.

Friday Fare, Internet Articles, Random, Uncategorized

Friday Fare: I’m Baa-aack!

Michelle Kubitz

Friday FareFriday Fare is where I post links to the random articles that have resonated with me during the week. Sometimes they make me smarter, sometimes they make me hungry … sometimes they have to do with writing and sometimes they are just plain random.

Can I tell you that I’ve missed this? I’ve been mentally processing a blog post that recaps the “lessons learned” from my 30-Day Writing Challenge, but at this moment – the only “lesson” is that I’d rather share random article links than tell you about the mommy guilt that I feel when I realize that my kids prefer chicken nuggets to quinoa.

Whoa. Wait. Not sure where that came from.

Anyway … without further ado – my “best of” of this week’s Internet reading!

Amy Poehler and Tina Fey.  Chocolate and peanut butter.  Beer and … well, almost anything.  New York Times had a piece this week that profiled the comediennes and their friendship.

Another comedian that I admire greatly.  Bill Murray … I am so glad that he’s in this world.

The NYT also printed their 100 Notable Books of 2015.

This article made me remember that there is still good in this world.

***

Listening to: YouTube still remains the place for me to discover new-to-me music.  I found a recent Old Crow Medicine Show concert from this year’s Live Aid and then followed that up with Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds.  Both of these finds made me exceedingly happy.

Reading: I had a revelation the other day, shortly after finishing Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Big Magic” and returning a couple of mysteries that I *should* have read and enjoyed. I’ve been enjoying non-fiction. To-wit, I just finished Andie Mitchell’s “It Was Me All Along.” Non-fiction and memoir has captured my attention like fiction hasn’t lately and instead of wondering what the hell that means, I’m just going to enjoy it. But I haven’t turned my back on my favorite mistress/genre – I’ve been having a wonderful affair with the Killer Nashville anthology of short stories. Reading these have been good for developing craft and introducing me to some new authors.

Fiction Update: I have a couple things going on with my fictional world. “Dragonfly” keeps plodding along – the holidays and work deadlines have not been kind to me, but I’ve enjoyed digging in and the work that I’m getting done. And I’ve joined a writing/critique group that’s going to meet monthly. This is my first foray into such a thing, so I’m full of a lot of conflicting feelings and angst, but I recognize that this type of feeling typically precedes a period of creative growth. So – I’m excited, but wary. I think this will help bring me to a “next level” but I also realize that I’m carving out a lot of writing and family time to make these meetings. So … good things are afoot. I love this creative life.

Random, Uncategorized

30 Days – Day 17

Michelle Kubitz

Towards the tail end of October, The Writer’s Circle posted a photo on Facebook that contained a 30-Day Writing Challenge. I liked the questions and I liked the idea of sharing a little bit more information about me (as opposed to my strange Internet reading habits), I decided to join in! If you’re participating – go ahead and leave a comment with your links below!

17. A quote you try to live by

Some days, my quote is “Damn the torpedoes!” When confronted with something that I really don’t want to do, it is “Never been a better time than right now.”  And anymore, the quote I aspire to live by is Ghandi’s “You must be the change you wish to see in the world.”

 

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30 Days – Day 12

Michelle Kubitz

Towards the tail end of October, The Writer’s Circle posted a photo on Facebook that contained a 30-Day Writing Challenge. I liked the questions and I liked the idea of sharing a little bit more information about me (as opposed to my strange Internet reading habits), I decided to join in! If you’re participating – go ahead and leave a comment with your links below!

12. Two words/phrases that make you laugh

Hmmm … this one is going to take some thought.  What words / phrases make you laugh?

 

 

 

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30 Days – Day 10

Michelle Kubitz

Towards the tail end of October, The Writer’s Circle posted a photo on Facebook that contained a 30-Day Writing Challenge. I liked the questions and I liked the idea of sharing a little bit more information about me (as opposed to my strange Internet reading habits), I decided to join in! If you’re participating – go ahead and leave a comment with your links below!

10. A fruit you dislike and why

By and large, I like fruit and will eat almost anything that’s put in front of me.  However, I tire easily of cantaloupe and honeydew melon.  They are watermelon’s ass-y brothers.

 

 

 

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30 Days – Day 8

Michelle Kubitz

Towards the tail end of October, The Writer’s Circle posted a photo on Facebook that contained a 30-Day Writing Challenge. I liked the questions and I liked the idea of sharing a little bit more information about me (as opposed to my strange Internet reading habits), I decided to join in! If you’re participating – go ahead and leave a comment with your links below!

8. A book you love and one you didn’t

 

One of my favorite books is Tregaron’s Daughter by Madeleine Brent (a pseudonym for British writer Peter O’Donnell).  It’s a book that came out of a box of books my dad bought at an auction when I was a kid.  Tregaron’s Daughter was published in 1971 and is a gothic-type mystery/romance set in Cornwall.  I cannot tell you what brings me back to that book, but I typically re-read it every year.  There’s something about the setting and the characters that keeps me coming back, like visiting with an old friend.

A book that I didn’t love … I tried to get into J.D. Robb’s “Death” series (and again – Robb is a pseudonym for Nora Roberts, who I typically adore).  I couldn’t get past the first few pages of Ms. Roberts’ futuristic suspense novel.  I’m a sci-fi fan, but that’s something I’d rather watch than read, I guess.

 

 

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30 Days – Day 3

Michelle Kubitz

Towards the tail end of October, The Writer’s Circle posted a photo on Facebook that contained a 30-Day Writing Challenge. I liked the questions and I liked the idea of sharing a little bit more information about me (as opposed to my strange Internet reading habits), I decided to join in! If you’re participating – go ahead and leave a comment with your links below!

  1. Your first love and first kiss; if separate, discuss both

Ugh. Can I just take a pass on this one? I’m talking about the first love part, not the first kiss. My first kiss wasn’t that bad – that counts for both of them, the first grade snow bank snuggles and then making out with one of my brother’s friends behind one of the buildings at my county’s fairgrounds.

So there you go on the first kisses. They were both sweet.

My first love? Eh, not so much. I’m not much of a late bloomer (he-llo, first kiss was in first grade … go me!), but I was pretty late to the game when it came to acquiring my first official boyfriend. I was in my mid-20s and was working as a reporter in Wisconsin when one of my co-workers offered to set me up with a friend of his. We met, we dated, we nearly got engaged, we crashed and burned … and that was in less than six months.

While it took me a little bit to recover from the whiplash I got from that emotional experience, I moved on. And to be honest – karma has been good to me. My husband is gorgeous, he’s my best friend (and not in the sappy “oh I married my best friend” sense. I did marry my best friend … one of my college drinking buddies.). Even more attractive – we split much of the housework and he’s a better parent than I am. Insane bonus round? We made really gorgeous, intelligent children. And although there are certain facets of my twenties that I would GLADLY skip, I wouldn’t be the person I am today without that really craptacular dating experience from when I was in Wisconsin.

As I’ve pondered this writing prompt, I had another realization: When I think about my “first love,” I don’t think of my ex very often. I actually think more about some of the guys that I grew up with and knew in high school – some of those old crushes I had. Unrequited love (or lust) is a real bitch, but I’ve adored and I’ve befriended some incredible guys over the years. I think of those guys and I think about how they treated chunky, awkward, teenage me … honestly – I knew some exceptional guys who grew up to be pretty decent men. And other than the toads I’ve encountered on this journey, I feel pretty lucky to have had my heart temporarily abducted by some of these men. It’s all a part of how amazing and nuanced my world has been.

 

Random, Uncategorized

30 Days – Day 2

Michelle Kubitz

Towards the tail end of October, The Writer’s Circle posted a photo on Facebook that contained a 30-Day Writing Challenge. I liked the questions and I liked the idea of sharing a little bit more information about me (as opposed to my strange Internet reading habits), I decided to join in! If you’re participating – go ahead and leave a comment with your links below!

  1. Your earliest memory

I’ve been the mother of boys for three years now and the longer that I’m at this parenting challenge, the clearer a particular memory is for me. In this memory I am probably three or four years old, it is naptime, and instead of sleeping I am fascinated by the sound that my hands make as I sit on the floor beside my crib and push at the carpeted floor by the doorway. The sound that I’m creating … it sounds like footsteps coming up the stairs! My memory ends as I was scooped up off of the floor by my poor, beleaguered mother.

What I like about that particular memory is that I actually remember the thought process that was going through my head at the time. How astonishing it was that my hands were creating such sounds! I don’t remember being scolded when my mom busted me, I don’t even remember feeling dismay … I just remember the wonderment.

I think that memory comes back to me now because of my own children. Because of some of the astonishing things that they do. They make no sense to me, but they are world building … the sounds that they make, the things they see – it’s everything to them right now.

 

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30 Days – Day 1

Michelle Kubitz

Towards the tail end of October, The Writer’s Circle posted a photo on Facebook that contained a 30-Day Writing Challenge. I liked the questions and I liked the idea of sharing a little bit more information about me (as opposed to my strange Internet reading habits), I decided to join in! If you’re participating – go ahead and leave a comment with your links below!

1 - Writing Challenge

  1. Five problems with social media

1) Um … it is the vortex where all ambition goes to die? Maybe that’s a little harsh, but seriously – I’ve had plenty of moments where I’ve planned to just take a quick peek at my Facebook page and come out of my trance 15 minutes later (erm, probably more like 45) totally disoriented as to where the time went.

2) My Twitter feed is currently capped at 2,000 followers. It pisses me off and at the current time, there’s not an easy solution. Darn you Twitter!

3) Internet trolls and their adoration of the comments section. After 37 years of life and at least most of the past seven years spent with social media in my life, you’d think that I’d know better than to read the comments that people leave on posts. But no – I click. I read. I get depressed at peoples’ stupidity and at how they think they are all superior to everyone when they can’t even spell.

4) Too Much Information (TMI). And I’m not talking about the time that there were two of my family members fighting on the Facebook and one of them posted something totally raunchy about their sex lives. (Yes, that happened. I’m from a small town and I swear that everyone I graduated with saw that particular post. It was terrible.) I’m talking about the fact that before Facebook and other social media, I probably didn’t know the political leanings of 75% of people that I know. Then I go on there and see a former teacher of mine saying something disparaging about LGBT people. COME ON TEACH! If I was a queer student and I saw the Bible verse you just quoted, I would know damn well that your class isn’t a safe environment. That’s the kind of thing that kills me.

5) I admire my husband and his staunch refusal to have a social media presence. (Other than the forums that he participates in to track his board game stats … yes, I love that man and his nerdiness.) I’d like to think that I could just go dark and leave Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest behind. (Pinterest and Twitter probably wouldn’t be too much of a challenge …). But I keep reading stuff about authors cultivating their social media presence and how agents look for that sort of thing.

I like social media. I appreciate the ways that it brings people together. As an author, I love the idea of how it will allow people access to my books, my thoughts, etc. But I like leaving it behind on weekends. I think that it’s something best consumed and experienced in moderation.