Wednesday, May 05, 2010

Temporarily (?) Stalled


In response to a query as to how his day had gone, Jon (a writer) replies:

“….it was a plodding day. A fits-and-starts day. I did manage to establish an especially brilliant place for a semicolon.”

~ Stephanie Kallos - Sing Them Home

Jon’s words made me smile. It’s certainly progress of some sort when at the very least, there’s a place for a semicolon to go.

Alas, although I am managing to achieve many “starts” they are far outnumbered by the “fits.”

Real life has a way of interfering, of distracting me.

I need focus and discipline.

Hey – there's a big old fat fly buzzing at the window, the phone’s ringing, I need more coffee…



photo credit: http://family.moultriecreek.us/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/once-upon-a-time.jpg

22 comments:

Reeny's Ramblin' said...

Coffee and sunshine is a cure all! Good morning :)

Rawknrobyn.blogspot.com said...

I agree; the semicolon is too often neglected; I try to give it all the attention I can; excuse me, I've gotta kill a damn bug.
xoRobyn

Gorilla Bananas said...

Fits? Do people still have fits these days? It reminds of when women got 'the vapours'.

kyknoord said...

Maybe you're suffering from Shoe Syndrome? One that fits - therefore it is worn (out).

Deidra said...

You make me smile! I love your "take" on life!

Scarlette said...

The fits & starts make the product of "Focus and Decpline" beautifully colorful.

oreneta said...

I know I'm in trouble when I am happily washing dishes.

The Bodhi Chicklet said...

There is a perfect picture of real life - a fat fly buzzing and the phone ringing. I have been looking for more Stephanie Kallos but my library only has Sing Them Home; I accept waiting for further reading pleasure. How's that for a semi-colon? Actually, I have no idea how to really use one, I just threw that it there for a lark as it seemed better than 6 goldfish perishing in a 7 year-old's fishbowl.

Anonymous said...

"I dream a world where one could die for a comma" (Emil Cioran)

... his sentence made me think of this quote.

Anonymous said...

Yet, it is the distractions that seem to make life so much more interesting. One thing always seems to lead to another and before you know it, your off on an entirely different path. You just never know where that path may take you. The way my mind (and body) work, it would take a million detectives to discover from how I got to point A to point B. So many zig zags that I often scare myself!
I love the wonderful points your come up with. This is an excellent one, indeed.
XXXXXXX

nursemyra said...

I prefer the apostrophe

Mike Minzes said...

Coffee is the only way I CAN focus; however..... :)

Alyssa Goodnight said...

I love that quote. I'm having plenty of fits myself (writing fits, that is). It seems my writing time has run out by the time I've added a word here and there (and maybe the occasional semicolon...)

Angie Muresan said...

It's been a week of fits for me. Wish I could start concentrating long enough.

Cheryl said...

Ditto, I've found it impossible to write these days, even a short blog post or comment seems beyond me lately. Thank goodness painting requires no words.

Maybe you can do the Dr. Phil thing? Ask yourself if your distractions are serving you in any way?

PS - Oh, God! Do I ever miss coffee!!!

laughingwolf said...

rain, but at least i have coffee...

rebecca said...

story of my life :)

Seraphine said...

so people who have half their colons removed have semicolons?
imagine that.
grow some guts, i heard that phrase in a movie.
a good writer will ponder the meaning of stretching that semicolon into a full colon.
ampersand! gesundheit.
it's better to be blessed than sick.

Angie Muresan said...

Happy Mother's Day, Beth!

Life As I Know It said...

New to your blog...I happened over here through Blog This Mom. Glad I clicked over.

I hate it when life becomes such a distraction. Hope you found some focus last week!

Barrie said...

I could've used more focus and discpline today. Which is why I'm up late. And now I am going offline. ;;;;;;;

Gary said...

I'm sneaking my comment in here! I hear you and hope you get there sooner than later. You'll get there.