Jude Stringfellow's Blog, page 34

Bay Sorrel Ranch (78% done) YEA!!

     So much happened today!! I think I wrote somewhere between 9000-10,000 words and that's a lot really. Most chapters have 2200-2300 words, but two of my three chapters today had nearly 4000 words each. I just kept writing. I loved it. I had a rodeo, an accident, an idiot, and a sweet new romance started. It has games and playing, and a new little dog!! YEA...the dog!!  He's a little Border Collie, and he's already getting himself into too much mischief. 

    The book is 78% done, if I'm going by the standard 86000 words that I shoot for. I sat myself down again and had to go over the last few chapters. I'm on #26 now. I'll have about 30-31 probably, but it could be 32. I can see this one striking out another chapter to get the full story told.  Just when I think I'm done, I go back to put the quotes in italics and then add another paragraph here and there. That's really what I am going to do next week when the entire book has been written in the first draft.

    So, after say another 5 chapters I'll go back over the whole thing for mistakes, misspellings, grammar issues, and more. I'll put in new adjectives, more explanations, and deeper meanings. Sometimes I just throw out a concept, but go back and flesh it out in the end. I call it fluffing and stuffing. I'm digging around the paragraphs looking for words I can add, or little phrases to make it sound pretty or interesting, or maybe both.

    I'm not really making it about any certain year, but a modern year, a recent year. It could be 2023, but I'm not saying it is. It goes into the next year, so it could be 2022, and then goes into 2023. It's just not ever said. It doesn't need to be pinned down to any particular event. I think I mentioned the Pandemic or lockdown, but I don't say how long ago it was; just that it was.  People are traveling, going about, and doing what they want to do. 

    Jule and Steve are married, and no, I didn't make a big thing out of the wedding. She'll describe it in a letter to her mom, through writing in her diary later, but it's not something the characters participated in other than to know that she did have a nice pretty, and expensive new dress, and Steve, at her request, wore a kilt. His father's side of the family was mostly German, but his mother was a Moore, which is a Scottish name, and he was more than willing to let her have her fantasy. He knew he would be participating in them anyway.

    I may need to bring in MCT coconut oil and its benefits tomorrow when I write. I have another week before I go to work and have to put my writing on hold until after 5 p.m. That will certainly slow me down some, but I think I can still write out a book every other month, so I expect to write six books in 2024, just like I did in 2023. I didn't write all the time this year, but if I'm only doing it at night and on weekends, I'll crank out what I can. This one is a drama, it has nothing to do with the Highland romances or the murder thrillers, but it's been fun to write. I've enjoyed myself. 

Photo Credit: Pinterest.com

Ferguson! (Until we find out if he/she is Fergy or Fergus)

     So, there we were, Laura and I just minding our own business in PetSmart because you know, we do that; we mind our own business. There we were thinking we needed to buy a few crickets for her Leopard geckos, when out of the blue, completely unrehearsed, and without any real plan whatsoever (except we generally ask when we go into the store) Laura asked the store associate if the store had any geckos for adoption. You see, the adopted pets are free; not the cats, and yeah, not the dogs, if they have them there through an organization, but if you find an adoptable lizard, snake, bird, or rodent at the store, you can actually take them home with you for free!

    We do that from time to time because we enjoy rehabbing and rehoming. We never charge anyone for the animal, just for the tank and supplies if we sell that with the animal. This time, however, I'm keeping the little Fancy Leopard gecko that I've chosen to call "Ferguson" until I find out if he is a he or she is a she. Then, it will still be named Ferguson, but I'll call it "Fergy" or "Fergus" probably. For simple and probably biased reasoning, I am referring to the little reptile as a she currently. I have every intention of making my apologies to him/her if I need to later.

    You do feed live crickets and mealworms to geckos, but it's not the same feeding those live creatures as it is (for me) when you have to feed live rodents to snakes. In the past, I've rescued snakes, but I didn't like having to feed live. I had one and only one that ate frozen pinkies, but even those are sad because they're all fuzzish or about to become so, and they're dead in your refrigerator; not a good look when friends and family go snooping...it does raise the eyebrows.

    Ferguson is what is called a Fancy Leopard, and I really haven't seen much of a difference in the various types. My daughter Laura knows a great deal more than myself. I have had them, and I have loved them. I have also had bearded dragons and love the stuffings out of them as well. To be honest, I'm sort of waiting for one of them to become available through adoption. I need to set it up first, so I'm ready when they get one. I wasn't ready this time, but Laura had a spare tank.

    What I think I'll do is get a couple of smaller tanks on Craigslist or Marketplace. I'll clean them really well, make sure they have lids and such, and then I'll start collecting hides, plants, bowls, and a lamp or two. That way when a dragon comes along, or another sweet Leopard gecko, I can do that...you know me, or maybe you don't, but if you did, you'd know I love to rescue. I don't like to spend a lot of money doing it, but I do love to rescue and care for animals that others have either thrown out or given away.

    In the past, I was all about rehabbing and rehoming. I thought I was going to keep my last dragon but she was very shy and didn't want to interact whatsoever after having her for six months. She was abused I suppose. She was gifted to a classroom where she can have plenty of things to at least look at and watch. I'm told she comes out of her hide and watches the kids. She doesn't like them getting too close, but she's intrigued, so that's good. I hate that people abuse anyone or anything, but they do.

    I don't know PetCo's policy, they may or may not have adoptable animals for free, but check out your local PetSmart if you're into reptiles, spiders, and such. This will give you the chance to be kind to a life, and if you decide to keep it, it will give you the joy of being a friend to someone who could use a good face to stare at now and again. We play with our animals. We take them out, hold them, love them, talk to them, and even let them watch TV with us. (We don't do that with the cats or dogs in the same room...just need to clarify that for anyone who may know I have furry things too.)

    So, Ferguson is about 3 inches long because she's lost her tail. She's about 2 months old, so I'll give her September 1 as her birthday, and she's sort of Ball Python looking, to be honest. I think the term is: Tug or Tug Snow if she is apt to remain light with darker spotting. She's pretty. I like her. She's really fast too, by the way. Laura transferred her from the little box thing to the cage and lost her! Zip! Bam! Gone!! That was fun, and yeah, a little scary too.  For now, she seems content, and I'll keep you posted.

Photo Credit: Me.  This is Ferguson. She eats about 3 mealworms every other day.

    

    

Bay Sorrel Ranch (65% done) Getting Good.

     To be honest, it's already good, but I'm really loving the writing at this point. I know it's going to be around 86000 words, or 328-340 pages, like the other books. I may end up with about 90,000 on this one. I did the Math today. I have 12 more known chapters left and with an average of 2500 words in each, that's another 30,000 words. I have about 56,600 now, so yeah, I'm on track; but I could do another chapter easily. I'm in the middle of one of the stories and realize it's taking more than a chapter to finish. I may end up making that chapter longer, or what I could do...and I like this idea, is to tell 1/2 the story, do another two unrelated chapters, and then come back and finish the one I'm on now.

    What's really cool when you're writing is that you don't really always know what you're going to do or say.  You don't know what the characters will do or say. You don't always know if a new character will pop out of a freezer at 7-11 and ask something that causes the entire store to stop and stare at them wondering if they held the keys to the kingdom the entire time. WHO THE HELL is this person? It's sort of like that when you get into the writing.

    Since some of the characters are based on real people, I try to get their inner personalities into the conversations. Since some are not based on anyone, I can be a bit more loose, a bit less restrictive and I can really dig up whatever I want to dig up. I will go over the book with a little sarcasm soon, making jokes or cracking statements from one or the other of the characters so I can put the vibe I want into it. I have been far too nice so far. I know I have been. I'm trying to bring myself back to the original idea of making a few of the girls in the book rather nasty; not good kids. It's just that I am such a hopeful optimist in real life, I have a hard time saddling the kids in my books with such behavior and demeanor.

    Today, one of the boys tries to convince another girl that he impregnated a girl, and he says it to impress her. Now, at sixteen is that really something you want to use to impress someone you're interested in? Not really. The boy has social issues and it becomes obvious to a few people as the story progresses.

    Anyway, I'm now 65% done. I've outlined the next 12 chapters with the details and main points I want to say. When I do finish I won't be finished. I'm never done when the last words are written. I have to go back through it and keep fleshing it out, so that it not only makes more sense, but it also has more color, more spice, more flare, and in this book, more nasty meanness. 

    I say it all the time, the best thing about horse people is their dogs!! This book could use a good dog. I'll add that tomorrow.

Photo Credit: Me.  (This is a grey roan Mustang we almost bought.)

Bay Sorrel Ranch (56% Done) More than Half Way Through.

     It is at this point in every book I write, that I realize I'm on the other side of the woods, and rather than running into it, I'm running out of it. I have only 46% more of the story to tell. I'm more than halfway through it.  I have the meat to go. I'm about to start it. I've introduced the main characters, and I've added a conflict or two. I've brought some light to a few matters, and developed a few characters, and now there needs to be a telling of tales; something to wrap the book around.

    The murder in the book is solid. It happened, but his isn't a murder book. This isn't a mystery, a whodunit or anything like that. I'll flat name the killer later in the book, and all the others can talk about it, give their opinions, and discuss their thoughts openly about it as if they had reason to do so. The book is about a group of individuals who come together and have something in common. 

    Each person at the barn has a reason to be there. Much like if you're driving down any particular road there are others also traveling down it; be it in cars, trucks, buses, bikes, maybe some are walking. Each person has a reason to be there, and each person has a story as to why they are there. Some of those reasons or stories could be interesting, but many are not. It's just the way it is. Nothing is exciting all the time.

    So the author herself and her new engaged boyfriend lover and bestie are in Edinburgh for the launch of her 7th Highland Romance book during this part of the book. They enjoy themselves in Auld Reekie, and even take in a concert of a particular Christian music artist. He tells his testimony, sings and explains life, and the pair are more than happy to download a few of his songs when they return home to Oklahoma.  Jule, the author and owner of the barn will make dinner soon, again, winning the heart of her lover, and she'll contemplate spending a week or two up in the Tulsa area soon to help her other daughter out when she undergoes an emergency surgery. 

    Not everything in the book is about the barn. The barn is the place where they gather, it's a place where they hub. The stories coming out of the barn are reflective of what can happen or take place at a boarding facility, but it's not the end all, and can't be. Life is too complicated for that to happen. I hope you'll enjoy reading the book. I'm having a great time writing it. I'm steering off a bit from what I first thought it would be, but I didn't want to become too bored with the whole mean girl thing; there's more to life than dealing with bullies. At least I think so.

Photo Credit: Unknown (Princes Street, Edinburgh, Scotland)

    

Bay Sorrel Ranch (47% Done) Woot!

     I didn't write anything yesterday, but I did today. In fact, I don't think I wrote anything for two days. I do that. I didn't decide I would write three chapters today, but what happens is, I'll sit down and start writing, and then my characters start talking and they fill out the chapter! I haven't said what I thought I would say, and suddenly there are 2300 words being passed around like nothing before it. So, the only thing I can do is put in a page break, and start the next chapter.

    That's what I did today. I had to deal with the murder at the ranch, but since the book isn't really about the murder, I didn't want to go all 48-Hours or Dateline on it, just sort of mention this or that about the autopsy, and how the girl was pregnant, and before I know, the characters started in on what they thought happened. I didn't want to stop them, they were really getting into it. So that's how I write, and now you know. I start a conversation and I listen to the various voices in my head -- yes, various, but they're not crazy most of the time. They don't ever tell me to kill anyone, we're only killing fictional people, I promise.

    I'm in the middle of buying a few horses now and having them trained. They're all Mustangs. The ranch is a Mustang ranch that doubles as a boarding facility. The boarders keep the lights on basically, no extra money is made off of them. If you don't know anything about horse boarding facilities that may sound odd, but you really don't make any money off of them. If you have to pay managers and feeders, grounds people, and such, you don't have anything left over. You have feed, you have equipment, you have water, gas, and electric bills, you really really don't make anything off of boarding, but you can keep your lights on.

    My main character (Jule) is an author, and she's in Scotland right now launching her seventh Highland Romance novel. She's really having a great time and I'll pay a bit of attention to that as well, but the ranch is her new thing. She's opened it to boarding, she's working it, she's loving the country living, but then she's very much falling for her old flame who hasn't even ridden a horse in over thirty years; she'll be his trainer too. It's going to be a really good ride - - and read. I hope you like drama, love, fun, and even a bit of nonsense. This book has it all.

Photo Credit: Me.  (a brown baby horse)

Bay Sorrel Ranch (Twelve Chapters In) 36% Done

     If I'm sticking with my goal of 86,000 words, then at 31,000 I am about 35-36% done with the new novel. It's not what I thought it was going to be. It's so funny to see and hear myself say things like that. After all, I am the one writing the book, shouldn't I get a say in what it is or how it turns out? You would think that, but you would be wrong.

    I cannot speak for anyone else other than myself, but I can say that my characters start out as real people, not as fast-swimming sperm vying for life. No, they are already grown in most cases, and they have their own views, opinions, mannerisms, and behaviors. Some of them, as you know, are killers! Some of course, because I'm that way, are law enforcers who go over the top and beyond their own strengths to catch those other types. I have lovers, bankers, horse people, dog owners, and even postal workers. I have doctors, gluten-free vegan types, and you know, I do love my musicians. At least one pops up in every book. 

    Come to think of it, I've just written Chapter 12 of the new Bay Sorrel Ranch book and no one has picked up a guitar yet. How is that even possible? It's a book about horse people and no one has taken a trail ride, or gone into a competition yet. I've really gotta get in touch with myself and make these things happen. I'm rather boring I think.  I have murdered a teenager. I did get that accomplished. No one knows why just yet, I mean, I think I do. I think I know why, but as I progress in this thing even that can change.

    Right now the new owner of the barns and property is just getting her feet planted and she's committing herself to the ranch life, but trying to juggle her writing career as well. The murder is actually almost hampering her new launch for what she thinks she can do with the ranch, but it's not really polite to move forward with the investigation still underway. Hey, but they did bring in the dogs!! That's always a good sign. The dogs know what they're doing...they get their man...woman, whoever. They do the work of 10 men easily. 

    The next adventure, because believe it or not, the murder isn't what the book is about, is the start of rodeo season. It's a year-round thing, but the closer you get to the summer there are outdoor shows, the more money is spent, and the more likelihood that the ranch will be seen for what the owner wants it to be known for; not the breeding grounds for illegal activities, which it has been for decades until various mismanaged ownership and such. It's a new beginning for the owner as well as the land itself. It's going to take more than a few coats of paint to cover all of the sins that took place at the BSO. (That's the former name of the place)

    I'm not going to lie, it's pretty exciting to be able to sit down and key out what I want to say, what I think should happen, and what I remember happening to us at other barns when we had horses. I'm drawing from real-life experiences in most cases, notwithstanding the murder. One barn we boarded at had three ex-convicts working at it; one was out on good behavior after being a part of a murder case in the late '90s. I think he was there, I think he was young, but I don't think he's telling the truth about it. I left the barn pretty quickly when I realized that they were selling drugs after hours. If you can't access your horse around the clock, there's a problem.

    There were so many bad barns in our lives. So many bad barn owners. We have one woman who we cherish, and she alone stands out as being a good barn owner, but even she knew how to push my buttons at times. I love her, and she knows I do, but she did try to tell me how to ride, and that just isn't going to happen.  I didn't mind if she wanted to instruct my daughter, but she got a bop on her head with my lightly closed fist (not hard, I promise) when she persisted with instructing me. 

    I don't know if I'll include her in the book, but I probably will, as I'll have the main character call her to let her know she's now a barn owner and trying to be as fair and open-minded as the one we love has always been.  For now, I'm having fun etching out the do's and don'ts of the next few chapters. I'll get them all outlined tomorrow and/or the next day. I don't have to rush because I don't have a subscription to Canva to do the new cover. When I do, I have an idea of what it will look like. What do you want to bet there's going to be a horse on the front of the book!

    

Photo Credit: Equine Helper

Putting the Writing on Hold for Now.

     I'm going to put my writing on hold for a month or so, this will allow me to get caught up on a few more things that mean a lot to me. I need to exercise more, and get out there and walk. I've been neglecting that. I think I thought I had to get those books out before starting my new job, and I did what I set my mind to do. I achieved my goal. I don't have to get the next one out right now. I can wait. I'm not really feeling that one like I did the Posh thrillers. Even "Edinburgh" was pressing me, but this book, "Bay Sorrel Ranch" is not really all that pressing. It's just sort of there.

    I will start my new job on 12/11 and that does give me enough time to write the book if I choose to, and I will probably be really relaxed about it. I may do a chapter here and there, maybe do a few tweaks on the plots and twists. I need to be sure I have all of it lined out the way I want it.  Because I'm not working yet I don't have all the subscriptions to the places I need to have them with so I can get the book formatted once I write it, and draw up a pretty (and free) book cover. I know it's only a matter of a few dollars, but why spend it if I'm just going to relax anyway. I'll get them back once I get a little more serious about the book being finished. 

    My new job is so funny, it's insurance, but it's more service than sales. It's from home, and there are three really good reasons I'm taking it; it's not the money. I'm actually taking a cut in pay, but it will be worth it in the end.  One reason I'm taking the job is that it is so relaxed. Because they are not expecting us to work hard, or to work overtime, I'll have time to think through my books during my work time as well. I don't have to be "on" the entire time, just available. 

    Another reason I took it is because the hours are literally what I wanted them to be.  You can't find that all the time. I work from 8:00 - 4:30 and Monday through Friday. The thing is, we're not really doing anything the first 30 to 40 minutes each day, just catching up from the day before, going over notes, and having a Teams meeting while we drink our coffee, and eat our breakfasts....all of us in our PJs. I love the stuffing out of that.

    Another...aforementioned reason, I wear my jammies to work. I don't get up, take a shower, get dressed, put on professional clothes, put my makeup on, and drive through poopy dreadful traffic to get to a place where others have experienced the same thing. By the time you arrive, you're upset. It starts the day off on the wrong foot most of the time. I don't have to listen to office drama, office politics, office lies, or office whatever. I am the only person in my office, and I'm in my jammies without makeup and without drama - - unless the dog needs to pee or something.

    During the seven weeks of training, we'll work  8-4:30, and then afterward it will be much closer to 9:00-4:15 p.m. as we're supposed to stop about 15 minutes before the close of the day to again go back over the plans, or what happened during the day so we'll be ready for it the next day. FREAKING LOVE IT.  Yes, it pays about $600 less or so each month, but for peace of mind, peace of peace, and whatever else, it's worth it. 

    During the training time, I'm going to be training in the evenings too. I'm learning Xactimate from the standpoint of taking my certifications.  I know Xactimate in theory, but I'll learn it to the point I can take the tests and be certified in both Level 1 and Level 2 of the program so that I can be that much more of an asset to the team I'm assigned to, or the next team. Once I have the skills I'll work them two or three months before asking for a new assignment. You can do that once you have a certification of Level 1 or 2 in Xactimate. You can ask for more money, you can ask for better hours too.

    The thing about knowing Xactimate is that if your current employer isn't working with you, the next one will.  Every contractor, and every insurance carrier needs and wants people who can do Xactimate from their home, and if you have a Level 2 certification, you can almost write your own ticket. The average salary in the States right now for a Level 2 is around $72,000.  Google that. Go look it up. It's a real thing. It depends on your assignment, and your employer, but an independent makes even more. So, this job is awesome. I can do it, relax, love it, stay, learn Xactimate, and I can move forward. 

    I love a win-win. It feels really good to just relax and know everything will be OK. God is just too too good. LOVE Him.

Photo Credit: Google Play (Xactimate) Photo Credit: Glassdoor.com

Yuuki - Our Chiweenie - Our Sweet Old Boy.

     After just over the threshold of sixteen years, it has become apparent that our sweet little once-solid-black Chiweenie dog Yuuki be taken to the vet to be escorted over the Rainbow Bridge in just a few days. We decided to wait the weekend so we could spoil him, have a few more good days with him, and let him know that we truly appreciate him. He realizes too, that it's been a good and long life on this planet, and that it's time now, to step into his newness and the gifts that Jesus can give him.

    Laura, my daughter, had just come off of her one-off tour with Ozzfest 2007 when she decided to get herself a little dog. She had just moved out of my place and was on her own (well, with her little sister) and she thought it would be great to have a little dog to spoil. We're rescuers, so buying a dog never enters our mind; however, that being said, there was a woman in our city claiming to have full-blood Chihuahuas for just $150 and though they didn't have papers, she knew who both parents were...yada yada...you know where this is going, right?

    I told Laura she was about to pay her hard-earned money for a mutt, but if she wanted to do it, that was her choice. As it turns out we actually did rescue Yuuki. The conditions of the place he was in were dismal at best. Though we knew the second we looked at him that he wasn't a purebred dog, we didn't care. He needed to be out of that place, and we were on our way to the nearest law enforcement facility! The puppy mill that woman was running was nasty to say the very least.

    We still have no idea what the police or the city council did for the puppy mill or its owner, but we felt pretty good about bringing at least one sweet face home with us to be loved and cared for until his last breath. That was literally 16 years ago. Since the day we brought him home with us, Yuuki has seen three or four of our other animals face the same situation he's facing now. Why animals can't outlive all of us is beyond me. They give so much, love so much, maybe that's it. Maybe they burn both sides of the candle of life trying to be the best they can be. Just sitting there and smiling is really all they have to do. They were made perfect.

    Yuuki went with Laura while she sang, while she performed on stage, and while she worked he sat beside her, while she did anything, he was her dog. He held that position until right at one year ago when he began distancing himself from her and becoming less and less interested in being picked up, cuddled, or nuzzled. He wanted to be in the room maybe, but not held. Over the course of this past year, his health has really declined. He was hard of hearing about two or three years ago, but it's nearly complete now. He can still see and smell quite well, and he still likes to bark at what he perceives to be strangers.

    This past month has been the hardest for him. We can tell he's not in good spirits most of the time, and he has finally begun to lose control of his bowels. He has never been this way, so we know it's something that he can't reverse. The doctor (such a very very sweet man)  has told us that it's time, and we suspected it before we took him in to see him.  We decided not to do it today. We decided to take him back on Monday so we could spend a little time with him at the pond, a place he truly enjoyed as a young puppy, and of course whenever we can take him.  We lived in the same complex when we got him, moved out, moved back, and he remembers it.

    He'll be cremated at the clinic, and the doctor told us his ashes will be scattered over the flowerbeds and tree bases outside the office; the ones that are so pretty, and so lushly wonderful. They have greeted patients and clients for years. The thought that he'll be part of that family of friends means a great deal to me, but the most important thing is that he'll not be in pain, he'll not be depressed. He'll be happy and healthy, and whole again, and he'll find our other pets (and millions of others) who will likely show him the ropes until Laura can come to Heaven to claim him all over again. 

    Please pray for us, but think a second or two longer in your prayers for Laura. She was only 18 when she picked him up that brisk September afternoon.  Our lucky boy was literally born on  07-07-07.  We brought him home on September 14, 2007. He's been both a nuisance and a miracle for us all. Aren't they all? Where we know that death is a part of the whole cycle of life, it's still chilling and hard to let it happen. We'll mourn, and we'll cry, but I'll also laugh when I walk over to OUR chair and he's not there to chase away from it. It's been a morning ritual for well over four years now. Sweet boy. Thank you for your prayers and good thoughts.  (If you're wondering why I have to chase him from my chair it's because he refuses to share it with me...stinker.)

Yuuki today.

Yuuki on September 14, 2007.

Being Ghosted! It's Not Fun!

     I have a license as a Claims Adjuster and I'm licensed in 10 separate states.  I haven't had the opportunity yet to use those licenses, but that's not what my plans included when I was out there studying for the test, buying the other licenses, and doing all I could to take as many online courses as I could in order to be both auto certified and properly certified. If you want to get a good gig after you get your licenses you have to do a few things; you have to get more licenses, you have to study both sides of the game (auto/property) and you have to know people! You just can't waltz onto the scene thinking it's all going to be OK and everyone is going to want to hire you.

    First, if you're into becoming an independent Claims Adjuster, you need to know that you're probably (probably) not going to be hired right out of the chute; nope, it takes either a catastrophic event, or you have to know someone high enough in the ranks of a good company that will take a chance on you. EVERYONE wants their hires to have a minimum of two years of experience. How do you get two years if no one will hire you? It doesn't make sense; it's the biggest Catch-22 out there. You have to have experience, but you can't get the needed experience. Over and over and over you're told to wait, just wait, as soon as a good enough hurricane comes through, you'll be picked up. Not necessarily. Those with experience will be picked up, and if it's really big you may get a few weeks experience before they cut you for not knowing your job!

    From April to August of this year, I spent the entire end of spring and summer with my head in the online studies for all things auto thinking that was the way to go. I was going to be a desk adjuster. I was going to work from home. I was going to be hired, and I was going to make $100K in my first year. That's what they were telling me. That's the spiel they give you when they think you'll spend money to take their online courses. Luckily for me, I didn't have a lot of money to spend, so I didn't waste money learning. I took free courses. One course I took through Pilot would have cost $400 but they take it out of your first paycheck if they ever hire you. They never hired me.

    Not only did Pilot not hire me, no one hired me. I remained unemployed, which didn't really bother me, as I was writing books, and I'm still technically unemployed because I haven't started my new role yet. The role I've accepted isn't even in claims. It's in insurance, but not on the side I wanted to be on. So, what does all this have to do with being ghosted? EVERYTHING. Through the summer as I was applying for many different roles, I interviewed with more than twenty independent companies, and six of them literally never got back to me after the interviewing and the assessment phase. I did the whole hour-long interview at their convenience, and I did their thirty-five to forty-minute assessment; sometimes I was required to do video interviews as well. Six company hiring managers never bothered to reach out and tell me that they weren't hiring me; the others did.

    Not being contacted after you make the effort to not only interview but to do an assessment or project is so very rude! It's not only rude, it's unprofessional. It's unethical and it's immoral in my opinion. It's as if they think (and they do think) that we (the candidate) have nothing better to do than to sit around waiting for them to call us, and invite us into their "family"...we do have other things to do. If you're not going to hire us, let us know. Tell us, we're adults, we can take it. Rejection is normal, it's part of the game, but to not be spoken to is tantamount to being ignored; purposely ignored. It's genuinely unacceptable from a social or civil standpoint, and it's flat rude!

    I thought perhaps these and other companies had gotten wind of what one of my ex-employers had to say about me, and maybe that's why they never called me back. It's true you know, ex-employers have rights we don't have. They can add false statements to your HR file and you may or may not even realize they've done it. I was lucky! One of the companies that did get back to me told me what he found on ADP regarding my former role, and I had to call the company and demand that they remove the false statement. It took another four weeks to force it, and I had to call their corporate office, threaten them with a lawsuit, and call the Department of Labor in my state. If you don't know why someone hasn't called you back, you may not even think to look in your old files; but there it was...absolute lies. 

    The truth is, I had turned the employer in for stealing from the federal government to pay state funding; I proved it. I was terminated and they tried to say it was because I didn't know my job in the role I was working at the time. To this day, I have to believe that anyone who checked from 2023 back to 2016 when it the note was placed in my file (with the state job I held) that the person investigating my background just thought I wasn't worthy. I was! My employer was a liar and a cad! These HR firms don't allow US (the candidates) to add to our own performance reviews, but they certainly allow carte blanche to the employers to do so! It's wrong.

    This week I decided to write to the most recent man (I won't say his name or his company) and let him know that I don't appreciate him not getting back to me in a timely manner. I applied for the role in August. I had an interview in early September. I was pushed to the next level. I waited four days to have the next interview, it lasted over an hour. I was pushed to the next level, and they asked me to do an assignment to prove I knew my stuff. They got around to sending it to me two days later. I did it immediately and I sent it back. They got around to grading it three days later. They emailed me to say I needed to speak to the hiring manager, but he was going to have to call me toward the end of the next week. I waited. 

    When we talked he had another man on the Zoom, and the three of us talked for over an hour again. They were most impressed with my abilities and thought I would be a wonderful fit, but they wanted me to speak to their director. She wasn't going to be in for another week or two, as she was getting married. I waited. It's October 30th by this time. Seriously...I waited. I did everything they asked, and I was available each time they needed me to be.  She finally called, and we talked for another forty minutes. She loved me. She then stated that she hadn't made the decision and that I'd need to get back in touch with the first guy I had spoken with. I sent him an email just in case she did not. NOTHING...CRICKETS!!

    I waited a week. I was then told that he had taken his family on a vacation and would return the following Tuesday. I waited. Thursday rolled around, then Friday. NOTHING.  This week hit, and I decided to write to him again, I asked him for the position explaining that I had been patient, that his director had recommended me, and that I had done all that I was expected to do. No answer. My thoughts were that perhaps he died on vacation. Surely, if he had died, someone would have contacted his director, so I called her. She told me she did in fact recommend me, that the man had been in touch with her as recently as the day before, but that she thought he may have offered the job to his...wait for it...NEPHEW on his wife's side of the family. 

    This is the sort of thing that will send shockwaves right through any of us! We don't have the time, the energy, the withal, or the desire to be used by those who have the authority to hire us but choose to abuse their status only to ghost and ignore people who have the talent they sought in the first place. It is not right. It is not fair. It is not ethical. It is not moral. It is not professional, and it should be reported to HR or his director, their Operations staff, and even as high as the CEO of the company because it's giving the company itself a black eye, not to mention that it shows an extreme lack of character on the part of someone they trusted with the role of supervisor. If he thinks he can supervise me with those flaws, he's got another think coming. I appreciate myself too much to be so blatantly abused.

    Either way, God is great. God is always great. I found another role, and in fact will start it soon. It's a role from home, as the other was, but it's in service not in claims. I'll continue to do the best job I can, and I'll be humbled in that role. I believe we are served when we serve. I believe we are blessed when we bless. I believe the way we treat others clearly outshines our status, our power, or prestige, or our position. No one will remember how many Gucci bags you owned on Earth, but they will remember how you treated others; it's that important. 

    

Photo Credit: Business Insider

Bay Sorrel Ranch (Chapter 5 Done)

     I have an entirely different feel about this book than I did with the others. This one is really close to my heart, but in some ways, it is so vastly different from what I actually experienced. I'm taking huge liberties with it, and throwing in a lot of innuendo, as well as unstated truths and half-truths. It's OK because it's a fiction book. I can lie all the way through it if I want to. There is nothing stopping me from making every last word a work of tale, but there are a great many realisms to be had in it as well.

    I'm going further to explain personalities in this one; at least I have been doing so, and I may continue. I'm giving the main character many of my own traits intentionally, but I'm giving her many freedoms I never had. She'll be a mix of the good, the bad, the ugly, and the money I didn't get to enjoy when I was raising my kids. I've been writing conversations between the main character's children, and I have intentionally added many of the quaint and not-so-quaint things my own three did with and to each other. I'm adding means and methods that have nothing to do with my own ways of upbringing and/or theirs. It's truly a mix, and it's fun to pour out the words and see where they go.

    It's funny because the title of this blog basically says I've written up to and through Chapter 5, but I'm thinking I'll write another chapter or two tonight. I'm not saying this book will be written quickly. I don't know. I took two weeks off already because I was focusing on my need to work; which is a great need. It may be that I am forced to write this one in between job searching and maybe at night when the job boards are being reloaded. If I could just somehow make people see that buying my books is a great thing, I could be a successful author and not just a prolific one.

    My ex-sister-in-law and I went to the Full Circle Bookstore yesterday. It's one of the best old-fashioned bookstores I've been privileged to frequent. She and I went over the books, reading their titles, and seeing the names of the authors, and when I intentionally moved her over to the shelf that had about three of my own books on it, she took a double-take. She had no idea I had actually written ten books; all of which are on Amazon, but yeah, I've ordered a few to be shelved in my favorite bookstore. If they sell they sell, right? She laughed and said she gets them for Christmas, and I had to sign them all as well. OK...deal.  I got her in the divorce decree. She's mine.

    The Bay Sorrel Ranch is a fictional ranch of course, but it is based loosely on about ten different boarding facilities my daughter and I have been associated with. We have boarded at some of the best and some of the worst places this side of the Pecos! I'm not kidding you. The rules, the antics, and some of the tricks, and shenanigans pulled by the owners would stun anyone!! I say it all the time, the best thing about horse-people is their dogs! Some horse-people are not worth spitting on even if they were on fire. Don't get me wrong, I don't wish bad on anyone, but I really shake my head at times when I think about the crap we've been put through over the years.

    One or two of the horses I go on about in my new book will be actual horses I've owned, but for the most part, they will also be fictional. One of the best things about being an author is that I can write whatever I want, go as deeply, and as directly at someone with both barrels loaded with words - - and I can shoot how many times I damn well please to shoot. The pen is so much stronger, swifter, and mightier than the sword ever could be. In my case, the keyboard - - gotta keep up with the times.

    Chapter 5 is in the can! But by this time tomorrow, I'll have written two or three more chapters. I may not blog about it until I have several more written. You never know. Today was all about introducing my younger daughter and my son, as they won't be focused on much in the book - - just mentioned. They prefer it that way actually. I can't leave them out, they are crystal-clear and so very radiant in my life. I give them fake names, addresses, and even characteristics, but I also give them enough of their own so they know I love them and want them close to my heart at all times. 

    Today's chapters wrapped up the purchase of the barn, the closing, and the inventory, and started the progress of what will take place now that it's a real working ranch again. It had been left to any and everyone to do with it as they saw fit - - all that changes, and for some, that's not something they particularly like.  That's too damn bad for them, but it could be a bit of a challenge for my main characters as well. You'll see.  Saddle up. It's gonna be a ride.

Photo Credit: Me. This is Laura about 11-12 years ago -- she won that race!