Life in the fast lane--where's the on ramp?

By Pat_B - About Me - E-mail this page - Add to My Favorites - Add to Blog List - See other blogs in Journal

Wednesday, August 2, 2017

HOT! HOT! HOT! – OR NOT! NOT! NOT!

At different stages in life, the “perfect” room temperature can range anywhere from 72 to 80 and most women will be relatively comfortable. Guys don’t seem so sensitive to minor fluctuations, but for the ladies, a degree or two either way or an overhead fan can turn a comfort zone into the... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 7:47 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Tuesday, August 1, 2017

KAROL AND GLORIA

SIUE, Student Center, Non-academic Scheduling Office, 1972. Came back to campus after maternity leave, first available job in my pay grade, working as receptionist/scheduling clerk for a Jamaican immigrant named Donna. The elegant Mrs. G., as she preferred to be called, took care of upper echelon... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 6:10 AM | add or view comments (4) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Monday, July 31, 2017

DOC

At Seattle Central’s Broadway campus, right in the heart of the city’s Capitol Hill neighborhood, it wasn’t unusual to have a homeless soul approach my desk in the Humanities and Social Sciences office. We were on the 4th floor, halfway between the north end and south end elevators. There were small... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 6:50 AM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Sunday, July 30, 2017

DO NOT READ THIS

Literally, that’s what went through my mind as I looked over the bit I posted here a while ago. It was about the Peter Principle and how a competent person who gets promoted into an unfamiliar job can really muck it up, complete with an example of who I thought was mucking it up and what “it” was.... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 11:55 AM | add or view comments (4) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Saturday, July 29, 2017

FRIDGE MAGNETS AND PORCH CHAIRS

They say you can deduce a lot about a person by the things they surround themselves with. One example of this comes from a class I took in 1978 – Creative Writing 151, taught by Prof. Lloyd Kropp. His example was the librarian’s office. What did she have on her desk? An open dictionary, notepad by... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:08 AM | add or view comments (4) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Friday, July 28, 2017

THE EDIT

I may have mentioned this guy brought me his letter to the editor for a touch-up, that I waved my magic wand over it and was waiting to return the “final” version to him on Thurs. In fact, the writing gang and I hung around for fifteen minutes waiting for him to arrive in The Center’s transport van.... Sign in to see full entry.

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Thursday, July 27, 2017

When the Girls Went To Lunch (Abdel, too)

After the Write Your Own Story session - last meeting until Sept. - the group went to lunch at Wendy's. Conversation wandered from current events to coming attractions, including whether or not we should form a fiction writing group this fall, and write stuff other than biographical topics "for... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 2:45 PM | add or view comments (6) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

NOW WHAT?

Did I mention that Abdel – the guy in our group – has arranged for his book club to read and discuss “Bloody Hell and a Slice of Pie?” Aug. 20, he said. 7:00 p.m. He wants me to be there. Today is the last meeting of the Write Your Own Story group until September. Last week, when I skipped out... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 4:24 AM | add or view comments (3) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Wednesday, July 26, 2017

Editing Mode

TUESDAY AT THE CENTER It may be the heat, this week of 100 degrees and up, of being restricted to quarters as the saying goes. But I’d got used to my own company, to immediate access to the coffee and snacks, grapes and melon squares in the fridge, no phone to answer, no cluster of biddies swapping... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:23 AM | add or view comments (5) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

Tuesday, July 25, 2017

WORD

Science fiction writing, when I was in college, was the illegitimate stepchild of “real” literature. Like comic books and dime westerns, it was discounted as beneath the standards of scholastic orthodoxy. But I suspect every high-toned author of ivory tower fiction would have given their eyeteeth to... Sign in to see full entry.

posted by Pat_B at 5:10 AM | add or view comments (7) | leave calling card | link to this | view only this entry

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Sometimes you have to write it down in order to learn what you really think about life, what it means, how to do what's best. Sometimes you need feedback from someone else to put things in perspective.

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