Dianne Pearce's Blog, page 41
August 10, 2018
July 26, 2018
SATURDAY WAS A RAINY DAY . . .
[image error] BUY IT!
And so, of course, I decided to move the furniture around.
Well, you know, the AC was on in the house. It was a tad chilly. Chilly. That’s how spoiled I am.
I thought the curtains might look nice inside of the window frames instead of above them.
I thought the orange curtains might look nice in the bay (bow?) window, rather than behind the piano in the LR (dining room?).
I thought… I thought….
Here is my problem: I have a pole, a beam, a column, whatever you want to call it. My house was created with a two-room first floor, half kitchen, half… other.
In the version I happened to buy there is 1 bay window (some have 2, others none) and, sadly, no fireplace. Because they assume that everyone wants a dining room, my house has these non-exposed beams that sort of square-off half of the “other” room, so, two walls (outside, non-bay window wall, and the kitchen wall), and two beams. And, where the beams meet, a column. Which means that they have essentially divided the front room into two rooms without a wall between them.
I don’t want, need, or use dining rooms.
The kitchen is ginormous.
What to do?
The LR area of the front room is 100% windowed-walls, making it tough to place a TV.
So, we have been using the DR area as the LR and the LR area has been a largely empty and unused spot with a cat tree in it (well, you gotta respect the cat tree. Cat’s need entire rooms to themselves.
And so, instead of finishing my damn novel, I moved furniture, and my husband moved furniture.
Arrrgh!
Saturday Was a Rainy Day
And so, of course, I decided to move the furniture around.
Well, you know, the AC was on in the house. It was a tad chilly. Chilly. That’s how spoiled I am.
I thought the curtains might look nice inside of the window frames instead of above them.
I thought the orange curtains might look nice in the bay (bow?) window, rather than behind the piano in the LR (dining room?).
I thought… I thought….
Here is my problem: I have a pole, a beam, a column, whatever you want to call it. My house was created with a two-room first floor, half kitchen, half… other.
In the version I happened to buy there is 1 bay window (some have 2, others none) and, sadly, no fireplace. Because they assume that everyone wants a dining room, my house has these non-exposed beams that sort of square-off half of the “other” room, so, two walls (outside, non-bay window wall, and the kitchen wall), and two beams. And, where the beams meet, a column. Which means that they have essentially divided the front room into two rooms without a wall between them.
I don’t want, need, or use dining rooms.
The kitchen is ginormous.
What to do?
The LR area of the front room is 100% windowed-walls, making it tough to place a TV.
So, we have been using the DR area as the LR and the LR area has been a largely empty and unused spot with a cat tree in it (well, you gotta respect the cat tree. Cat’s need entire rooms to themselves.
And so, instead of finishing my damn novel, I moved furniture, and my husband moved furniture.
Arrrgh!
July 23, 2018
IT’S BEEN BUSY, PART 2, THE MOM-STUDENT
At some point over the last year I decided it was time to become a student again myself. Like a for-real, back-to-college student. And so I did.
Because I am a mom, and a spouse, and an adjunct, and I run a writing group and a publishing company, I decided to go to school through a low-residency program. And I’d decided to become a psychologist/therapist/counselor, whatever you prefer to call it.
From January through May 1st, in addition to teaching about 13 classes at 4 different colleges, I also took 3 classes online through the one community college where I teach, to get my undergrad psychology requirements. And then I signed up for a low-res MA psych program, and then I spent about 12 days at the low-res program in the middle of March.
And now I have quit school and decided not to be a student.
WTH girl?
Well, before I sound like a complete idiot… I had my reasons.
You might not realize it, but to be an adjunct professor, traveling from school to school, can be very very exhausting. Add to that the fact that I always get stuck teaching essay writing, which requires a load of unpaid time spent grading essays, and I end up pretty worn out by the end of the semester. So, thought I, why not switch careers? It would only be my 4th or so time doing it; no big deal, and I am good at school.
However, I realized, after I spent 2 weeks in Vermont at school, and many weeks taking psych courses and buying and reading psych texts, that I just don’t want to do that.
What I want to do, is to be a writer, and a publisher.
I don’t know what is so difficult about this “being a writer” thing that I keep trying to dodge it.
I do know that I want to believe in myself, and work hard, for myself, and run a great publishing company that really help’s older writers find an audience.
And so, I am going to keep being an adjunct for now, and I am going to force myself to be the writer/author I want to be, to finish my damn novel, and to run my damn company, Devil’s Party Press.
What do you do to avoid pursuing your dream? Why do you do it?
[image error]
It’s been busy, part 2, the mom-student!
At some point over the last year I decided it was time to become a student again myself. Like a for-real, back-to-college student. And so I did.
Because I am a mom, and a spouse, and an adjunct, and I run a writing group and a publishing company, I decided to go to school through a low-residency program. And I’d decided to become a psychologist/therapist/counselor, whatever you prefer to call it.
From January through May 1st, in addition to teaching about 13 classes at 4 different colleges, I also took 3 classes online through the one community college where I teach, to get my undergrad psychology requirements. And then I signed up for a low-res MA psych program, and then I spent about 12 days at the low-res program in the middle of March.
And now I have quit school and decided not to be a student.
WTH girl?
Well, before I sound like a complete idiot… I had my reasons.
You might not realize it, but to be an adjunct professor, traveling from school to school, can be very very exhausting. Add to that the fact that I always get stuck teaching essay writing, which requires a load of unpaid time spent grading essays, and I end up pretty worn out by the end of the semester. So, thought I, why not switch careers? It would only be my 4th or so time doing it; no big deal, and I am good at school.
However, I realized, after I spent 2 weeks in Vermont at school, and many weeks taking psych courses and buying and reading psych texts, that I just don’t want to do that.
What I want to do, is to be a writer, and a publisher.
I don’t know what is so difficult about this “being a writer” thing that I keep trying to dodge it.
I do know that I want to believe in myself, and work hard, for myself, and run a great publishing company that really help’s older writers find an audience.
And so, I am going to keep being an adjunct for now, and I am going to force myself to be the writer/author I want to be, to finish my damn novel, and to run my damn company, Devil’s Party Press.
What do you do to avoid pursuing your dream? Why do you do it?
[image error]
July 20, 2018
FROM MY TEACHER, ABOUT TEACHERS
A wonderful piece from my very first poetry teacher, Chris Buckley:
[image error]
Feeling nostalgic. I had a wonderful time working with Chris. He taught me to like other’s poetry, in addition to writing my own. And I believe I had, at the time, a terrible horrendous perm, so he was extra nice to work with me.
Ahhh…. the past.
From my teacher, about teachers
A wonderful piece from my very first poetry teacher, Chris Buckley:
Feeling nostalgic. I had a wonderful time working with Chris. He taught me to like other’s poetry, in addition to writing my own. And I believe I had, at the time, a terrible horrendous perm, so he was extra nice to work with me.
Ahhh…. the past.
April 30, 2018
IT’S BEEN BUSY PART 1: THE EXCHANGE STUDENT
[image error]
Hi Everyone~
It’s been a busy spring for me. I’ve been shaking up the place a bit.
What’s new?
January zipped by, as it always does, school starting again for Sophie and me. All my new students to meet, all those new papers to grade! Oy vey!
But let’s start off with my temporary teenage daughter.
I don’t know if I mentioned, but my family has been hosting an exchange student from China through an organization called PAX. It has been just wonderful. We love our loaner teenage daughter like a second daughter, and wish we had a second daughter! LOL. My husband is trying to think of an international incident that he can cause so that China will not allow her to return home, and too bad for her poor parents, for whom it is difficult for us to have sympathy, because we want their daughter!
OMG, we love her to bits, and Sophie, our daughter, sees her as a sister. And loaner teenage daughter has been a sweet big sister. So willing to play dolls, or make crafts, or play board games, or even babysit for us once in awhile.
I could not have imagined, when we picked loaner teenage daughter up at the PHL airport in August, that I would love her so much, that she would fit right in as if our lives had just been waiting for her, that the year would fly.
As happens every time I add a living thing to my home, whether it be spouse, pet, or child, I had the thoughts “Oh my god, she/he/it is always going to be here! That is going to be annoying and feel like forever!” And, as happens whenever the new creature/human comes to live with me, I end up, instead, thinking, “How did I live without him/her/it? Will I ever be happy without him/her/it again?” And the answer is, no.
Well, in truth I will still be happy after loaner teenage daughter leaves, because I have other wonderful people and pets in my house and life and all that jazz, but I will never have the same kind of happiness I had with her here. And I hope that her parents feel we did a good job. I don’t know how they didn’t cry forever without such a great kid, and I am so grateful they loaned her to me. A school year, in some respects so long, in other respects, so fleeting, it has not been enough for me. I mean, I am glad to be almost done teaching for this semester. Spring Break makes the spring semester unbearably long. However, I am not done sharing my life with loaner teenage daughter. *sigh*
In any case, after January was in my rear view mirror, we had February, which, around here, is always a bit busy, and this year was even busier:
Feb 1st: Mom-Mom’s birthday and loaner teenage daughter’s birthday.
February, second week, Chinese New Year and a Valentines party at a friend’s.
February end-of-the-month, Sophie’s birthday, which we have not yet been able to have without having a party because, well, I mean, she’s really adorable. How could we not? This year we did a “Nancy Drew” theme that we put together last minute, because that is my whole MO in general. C’mon people, I’m no “Mommy Blogger” here; I’m a creative person, the undisciplined kind. So, we sent children and parents out with a map to go all around our development on a scavenger “clue” hunt to find the prize box full of the take-home goodies. It was fun. 
It’s been busy, part 1, the exchange student!
Hi Everyone~
It’s been a busy spring for me. I’ve been shaking up the place a bit.
What’s new?
January zipped by, as it always does, school starting again for Sophie and me. All my new students to meet, all those new papers to grade! Oy vey!
But let’s start off with my temporary teenage daughter.
I don’t know if I mentioned, but my family has been hosting an exchange student from China through an organization called PAX. It has been just wonderful. We love our loaner teenage daughter like a second daughter, and wish we had a second daughter! LOL. My husband is trying to think of an international incident that he can cause so that China will not allow her to return home, and too bad for her poor parents, for whom it is difficult for us to have sympathy, because we want their daughter!
OMG, we love her to bits, and Sophie, our daughter, sees her as a sister. And loaner teenage daughter has been a sweet big sister. So willing to play dolls, or make crafts, or play board games, or even babysit for us once in awhile.
I could not have imagined, when we picked loaner teenage daughter up at the PHL airport in August, that I would love her so much, that she would fit right in as if our lives had just been waiting for her, that the year would fly.
As happens every time I add a living thing to my home, whether it be spouse, pet, or child, I had the thoughts “Oh my god, she/he/it is always going to be here! That is going to be annoying and feel like forever!” And, as happens whenever the new creature/human comes to live with me, I end up, instead, thinking, “How did I live without him/her/it? Will I ever be happy without him/her/it again?” And the answer is, no.
Well, in truth I will still be happy after loaner teenage daughter leaves, because I have other wonderful people and pets in my house and life and all that jazz, but I will never have the same kind of happiness I had with her here. And I hope that her parents feel we did a good job. I don’t know how they didn’t cry forever without such a great kid, and I am so grateful they loaned her to me. A school year, in some respects so long, in other respects, so fleeting, it has not been enough for me. I mean, I am glad to be almost done teaching for this semester. Spring Break makes the spring semester unbearably long. However, I am not done sharing my life with loaner teenage daughter. *sigh*
In any case, after January was in my rear view mirror, we had February, which, around here, is always a bit busy, and this year was even busier:
Feb 1st: Mom-Mom’s birthday and loaner teenage daughter’s birthday.
February, second week, Chinese New Year and a Valentines party at a friend’s.
February end-of-the-month, Sophie’s birthday, which we have not yet been able to have without having a party because, well, I mean, she’s really adorable. How could we not? This year we did a “Nancy Drew” theme that we put together last minute, because that is my whole MO in general. C’mon people, I’m no “Mommy Blogger” here; I’m a creative person, the undisciplined kind. So, we sent children and parents out with a map to go all around our development on a scavenger “clue” hunt to find the prize box full of the take-home goodies. It was fun.
