lack of ...what were we talking about again?

Focus.

No, I'm not telling you to "focus". It's up to you whether you focus on reading this or not. 

If you can't focus on the words here, I can't really judge you. As I write them, I am also thinking about a stressful event the evening brought that took an hour and a half to resolve and am listening to a You Tube Minecraft video in the background to make sure it's not teaching my son any bad words (that's my job!).

Oh, right. Focus. I wrote that because that's what my topic is for tonight. Focus and multitasking.

Multitasking is exactly what it sounds like: attending to multiple tasks at the same time. Focus is, uh, focus. Technically, it is the direction of attention, but when we talk about focus, we generally talk about directing your full attention toward one task. This makes multitasking and focus opposites.

I've been multitasking for a long time because I can. Technology has encouraged me to think this way, to approach tasks this way. I'm not unique, by any means. We feel like we can do it based on the availability of so many bright, shiny things at our fingertips that move so fast. Technology makes it easy to do ... 

But there's something to be said for restraint. Just because you can  doesn't mean you should.

The truth is multitasking is the enemy of focus. There are plenty of data from scientific studies to support this --that say the more you spread your attention around, the more difficult it is to focus well enough on any one task to excel at it. We have a finite amount of cognitive resources. I know people like to talk about having limitless potential, but we don't. When we spread our limited resources around, we become inefficient and wasteful. It's more about quantity than quality. Think about your computer trying to run a bunch of programs at the same time. 

So here's an idea (talking to myself here, but feel free to listen in): try one thing tonight where you are only doing that one thing. Do it until you get bored --which will be quickly. Then, refocus and continue doing it without adding in more distractors. Do that one thing until it is done.

It's a challenge for a squirrel like me, but it's worth a try.

Focus.

a challenge!

I'm in danger of getting really angry about current events at the moment (Inner monologue: You know those Christian people who are a religious minority in other countries that you're so mad about, talking about their mistreatment? When you go after Jews or Muslims in this country, it's the same damned thing ...).

So, instead, I will let the anger subside and focus on something I can do something about at this precise moment: a writing challenge! Ooh! Hard to be angry about a writing challenge! 

Frustrated? Maybe. Angry? Never!

So here it is: I have a series of poems about children. Each poem is a child put in an ambiguous situation. The poems have no conclusions, and most stop mid-sentence.

The challenge: come up with a conclusion. It does not have to be in poetic form. If it's poetry, it doesn't have to rhyme. It can be prose. It can be photos. It can be drawings. It can be music. It can be video. It can be anything you like, as long as it provides a conclusion. You can share or not (please share, please share!). And I hope it provides some enjoyment of the non-angering kind.

I'll give you a couple to choose from. Warning: I wrote them using a structure Edgar Allen Poe used, and they rhyme, so they sound quite formal and old-fashioned. Y'all know how to read, though, so you'll be fine.

Ready? Go!

Ozymandias.

A child named Ozymandias,

The famous boy king of the River Nile,

Had beckoned to us with a regal smile –

The royal He had come to play with us.

Amongst the vast and undulating dunes,

Amongst triangulated pyramids,

The royal He and we –rambunctious kids –

Did laugh and play and whistle happy tunes.

But then, a monumental cloud of dust

Arose, obscuring everything with sand.

Young Ozymandias put out his hand

For us to grab, but we could not.  He just

...

Kitty.

Oh, Kitty Cat!  So very kittenish

Is little Catherine on Hallowe’en,

With pointed ears aglow with lantern sheen,    

With tail swinging with a swish-swish-swish.

Our whiskered little girl, the Kitty Cat,

Went dancing house to house on prancing paws.

She grasped her bag of sweets with painted claws.

She twirled and whirled –a feline acrobat.

Beyond a grove of lantern-lighted trees,

Young Kitty found one eerie final house.

She crept up, quiet as a tasty mouse.

She rang the bell, and then her trembling knees

...

ten random facts

My friend Alex had me read a blog the other day because he stole a line from Olivia Newton-John and used it for his own nefarious purposes. I had asked if anyone had ever changed "Let's Get Physical" into "Let's Get Cynical"; he had.

The line made it into the number 20 spot on a list of random facts about Alex. Since he stole from Olivia Newton-John, I am exacting revenge and stealing the random fact idea from him. Don't worry. Olivia gets her cut --50%, to be precise. That's why I'm only doing 10 random facts instead of Alex's 20. And, in fairness, I think Mollie (a Twitter friend) asked him to do it, so it was really her idea anyway.

Before you ask, no, I am not a complete narcissist. I am doing this to write something --anything --before I start "writing". It's a warm-up.

Random facts are easy. About me? Um, okay. I can do this ...

1. I write because I can't not write. I have a compulsive personality. This hopefully explains writing down 10 random facts and delivering them to the Interweb. 

2. I went to college with my doppelgänger as an undergraduate, so we have met (and are friends), and the Universe did not shatter.

3. I never took an art class in school. At that time, I believed that I was supposed to concentrate on courses that might eventually lead to a job plus art supplies were expensive. I was young --what can I say?

4. I was obsessed with Flannery O'Connor, Oscar Wilde, and Edgar Allen Poe in high school.

5. I am writing this in front of a fireplace because I have trouble regulating my body temperature and frequently feel cold.

6. I actually enjoyed that Pineapple Pen song from YouTube. Just because you like filet mignon doesn't mean you can't enjoy mac & cheese.

7. I am vaguely weirded out that all of these sentences begin with the word "I" for two reasons: 1) readers can get sick of the same sentence structure over and over; and 2) it's not all about me, and I know this.

8. I am terrified of thunderstorms, balloons, and anything that makes sudden, loud, low-frequency noises. I have recently started becoming nervous around bubblewrap. This sounds like a joke, but it's not. It's an anxiety disorder.

9. I would love to visit Japan someday. I have a great affinity for many aspects of Japanese culture.

And ...

10. I am a natural cynic (in tribute to Alex's original post which prompted this one). I am extremely cynical. I have had to teach myself to give people the benefit of the doubt, and it has made me a better person, I think.

And that's enough of that. Thank you to Alex, Mollie, and above all, Olivia Newton-John, who is out there somewhere on the series of small tubes (aka the Internet) telling 10 facts about herself. See if you can find them ...

Maybe try a few yourself? And, as always, please share.

happy birthday, vincent

Edna St. Vincent Millay is one of those people you read about and you think, "I wish I were that interesting ...". 

It is the anniversary of her birth today. 

A little background: she was born in 1892. Think about what was acceptable for women at that time. The expectation was be ladylike, get married, have children, and that was about it. She was raised by a divorced mother. She began writing and submitting poetry for publication around age 14. She endeavored to be a writer and make her own way in the world. It wasn't that she came from money --she didn't. That makes her adult life even more interesting. It's easy to push the limits of what's possible when you have a safety net. She lived without one and still walked the high wire.

One of her most famous poems --a very short one --is entitled "First Fig". Here it is in its entirety:

“My candle burns at both ends;
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends—
It gives a lovely light!”

Those few short lines are a good summary of her life philosophy. 

A few years ago, I answered her poem with a tongue-in-cheek, "Second Fig". Part of me regrets that (I'll attach it below anyway, and you can be the judge). Living with the kind of passion and defiance described in "First Fig" is nothing to mock. It's something to be admired.

If you have time, check out her writing. As a poet, she uses words carefully and well. All of them burn, but they are not a difficult read. She expresses ideas clearly but doesn't sacrifice the beauty of poetic language. It's a perfect way to celebrate a great writer and an inspirational woman. Happy birthday, Vincent.

--





And here is the sensible alternative, "Second Fig". Should we be sensible? I don't know. Hers sounds like more fun ...

In response to Miss Millay;

I say not as foe, but friend;

Your light can shine another day –

Choose, and burn one end.

when it clicks (happy uplifting blog post)

Have you ever wanted to do Something and you don't know how? You try and it's all vague and foggy and doesn't turn out the way you want at all?

Stick with me. It gets better ...

You try again. You look for ways to do your Something when you can figure out where to look. 

You ask people for help with your Something. You forget what they told you because you have to remember so many other things that need remembered. You remember maybe one thing out of twenty things the people told you, and you try that one thing. It doesn't quite end up the way you hoped, though. Have you ever had that feeling?

Seriously, hang in there. The good stuff is coming ...

You try again, and the Something gets a little bit better, a little bit easier. Then, life decides you're trying too hard and gives you other things to do. Or the world takes over and you find yourself fighting to get out of bed. All of the work you did on your Something fades back into chaos.

Come on. You can do it. I promise -this blog post does not have many words. A few more, and they're good. It's worth it.

You try again. Maybe someone noticed and helped you make a concrete step towards your Something, whatever that is. Maybe you received the gift of time and energy. You try again and ...

It clicks. That Something you wanted, it clicks. It's close enough to what you wanted that it counts. The funny thing is, it all counts. Everything that came before the click? It's what got you to the click, so it all counts.

My Something (learning how to make art on a computer) clicked yesterday. It's been something I have wanted to learn. Am I perfect at it? No. Am I seriously impressed that I made that? It's as close to what I've had in my mind as I've ever come, and I love it.

My Something was helped along by many people, and one in particular (hey, Aaron!), gave me access to materials I didn't have access to before. My friend Deb gave me access to materials when I was trying to learn how to art not on a computer before (art is a verb now -I've decided), and that helped, too. That support made all the difference, and my Something would still be a source of frustration rather than a source of joy, if it hadn't been for them.

If you have a Something, be it creative or altruistic or personal, keep at it. If you know someone who has a Something they're having trouble achieving and you're in a position to help concretely, help them out. Thank you for reading to the end of this blog post -sometimes you have to wait for the happiness, but it's there if you stick with it.