[Insert Life-shattering Event Here]

It may seem like I dropped off the face of the (Blog) planet, but, in fact, I'm still here...muttling through.

In April my father suffered a fall in which he broke his hip. Although he rallied beautifully from the surgery, recovery was impossible due to advanced Alzheimer's. He was unable to follow simple directions and his condition quickly began to deteriorate until his death three agonizing weeks later on April 28, 2009. He was 80 years old.

One bright spot was April 16, 2009 - the day of my parents 60th anniversary. Although he was unaware of the festivities around him, my family celebrated with our mother at the hospital with cake and thankfulness. In the final days, my mother rarely left his side; she had been his caregiver at home for several years.

I'll always treasure one Saturday afternoon I spent at the hospital with my son by my side. My dad was lucid as I fed him ice chips. He looked up and smiled. He said, "I'm happy."

I said, "I can't tell you how glad I am to hear you say that."

Long Lost Friend

The long awaited, long LOST friend returns tonight!

50 Cent Movie Night.

I liked the mov-ie. Mov-ie. She liked the mov-ie. Mov-ie.

[Insert Writing Advise Here]

We all need a little help with writing. We bounce ideas off each other - for many of us, that's why we're here blogging. I found this tucked away on my computer and thought you might find it interesting:

HOW TO WRITE GOOD
by Frank L. Visco

My several years in the word game have learnt me several rules:
1. Avoid alliteration. Always.
2. Prepositions are not words to end sentences with.
3. Avoid cliches like the plague. (They're old hat.)
4. Employ the vernacular.
5. Eschew ampersands & abbreviations, etc.
6. Parenthetical remarks (however relevant) are unnecessary.
7. It is wrong to ever split an infinitive.
8. Contractions aren't necessary.
9. Foreign words and phrases are not apropos.
10. One should never generalize.
11. Eliminate quotations. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said: "I hate quotations. Tell me what you know."
12. Comparisons are as bad as cliches.
13. Don't be redundant; don't use more words than necessary; it's highly superfluous.
14. Profanity sucks.
15. Be more or less specific.
16. Understatement is always best.
17. Exaggeration is a billion times worse than understatement.
18. One-word sentences? Eliminate.
19. Analogies in writing are like feathers on a snake.
20. The passive voice is to be avoided.
21. Go around the barn at high noon to avoid colloquialisms.
22. Even if a mixed metaphor sings, it should be derailed.
23. Who needs rhetorical questions?

[Insert New Year’s Resolution Here]

For me January 1 is always a day of reflection of the past year and an exciting beginning and exploration of what is to come in the new year.

2008 brought a lot of BIG changes for me. Every year I promise myself weight loss and better health, but each year I would fail. I might lose 20 pounds or so, but always manage to pack the pounds back on with a few extra ones to boot. 2008 was no different. I made the same vow, but for all the new year’s promises that I did not keep to myself, this year was different. I succeeded. Through life-altering surgery, I lost 115 pounds and never felt better. It may not be the right decision for everyone who is morbidly obese, but it was the best thing I have ever done for myself; I wish I had done it 10 years ago. I went from a size 26 to a size 6 in eight months.

A week before my surgery in February, I was promoted and received a raise. I am in a job that I enjoy and am surrounded by people with whom I want to work – people I respect and admire. I celebrated my 11th anniversary with Fedex Office in December.

2008 has also brought me closer to my friend and daughter, Kara, who enriches my life. She inspires me and I admire her determination when she is faced with her daily struggles. She is caring and loving and a joy to be with on road trips. (We’re taking one tomorrow to Oklahoma).

One more note about 2008. We came up with a lot of “catch phrases” for ‘08 like: Don’t hate in ’08, Don’t wait in ’08, and ‘08 is going to be great….

So how could 2009 be an improvement over that?

· I vow to get my finances in order. I’m an organized person, but I am financially irresponsible. I will make significant improvement in this area. Save money. Pay off credit debt. You know the drill.
· I will spend some time with my camera, enjoying the world around me through the eye of my camera’s lens. Also this will include guerrilla photography with Kevin on a trip to New Mexico/Arizona in April.
· Write. I’m planning to take a creative writing class and perhaps attend a workshop this year.
· Finish my portfolio that I started redoing in January 2003. Another unfinished New Year’s resolution. I’m almost there.
· Figure out how to dress myself again. I don’t know who the person in the mirror is or how to style her. It’s easy to shop when you are a size 26 – you buy what is in your size regardless of the pattern or material. It’s difficult when you have more choices (I’m not complaining though because it is more fun to shop now). I think this resolution also includes sewing for myself.
· This is the one above all others that I must succeed at: keep the weight in check and regain my strength. You know, exercise. I can rely on Kara for help and support here. She always offers her encouragement and doesn’t judge me when I’m lazy.

I’m invigorated. I really look forward to what is to come in 2009. It’s a fresh start that will only build upon the accomplishments of 2008. Everything’s fine in ’09.

To All My Old Friends Out There In TV Land

I’ve seen a lot of blogs lately that read like personalized TV Guides. Television is so much a part of our lives, many of us schedule our lives around when [insert favorite television show name here] airs. We live our life in 12-minute segments from one commercial to the next. I’ve been told “Wait until a commercial.” Or “I’ll call you back during the commercial.”

One blogger confessed to spending an entire Sunday afternoon surfing the internet researching when her favorite TV shows were airing new episodes. Her blog contains 600 words detailing what shows she watches, what shows she Tivos, and how she finds time during the week to watch those shows. I counted 30+ shows that she and her husband watch each week.

According to a 1998 A.C. Neilsen Company national survey the average American watches 3.75 hours of television each day! The average number of hours the TV set is on during the day: seven hours, 12 minutes.

Another blogger apparently has been taping the soap opera One Life To Live for 20 years and watching five hours every Thursday evening after ER. I admire that kind of dedication. She keeps up better with her TV family than I do with my real, live, breathing family. I don’t spend that much time each week phoning, emailing, or spending time with my friends and family. (In all honesty she probably doesn’t have much time to devote to her extended family either.)

Case in point, according to the 1998 report, the number of minutes per week most children spend watching TV is 1,197; while the number of minutes per week most parents talk with their children is 38.

Then there are those abnormal Americans who do not watch any television and build relationships with each other – not just during commercials. I have a friend who recently got rid of the box completely. He and his wife take walks together now and spend each evening conversing, playing games, and reading with their three children.

One blogger was debating on whether to include Leverage in her already hectic television schedule for the new year. Taking on a new show is like starting a new relationship – we chose our friends carefully because we want them to be around and not just fair-weather friends. Sometimes the relationship ends all too abruptly and our newfound friends drop off the face of the planet never to be heard from again.

I’ve been burned a few times by my television friends who didn’t stay around for the long haul. Jericho. New Amsterdam. Journeyman. And my long lost friends on Soap. I am very selective now; I can’t afford to invest too much time in a relationship that isn’t going to pan out for me. My line up includes Survivor. Project Runway. America’s Next Top Model. Top Chef. Lost. I have no room in my life for other shows. I can’t afford to get hurt.

I have more to say on the subject, but it will have to wait until the next commercial. My show’s on.

Movie Night

This week we saw Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist. It was the best 50 cent movie so far...the characters had the same on-screen chemistry as that of the popular 1930's film characters Nick and Nora Charles from The Thin Man series. Cute, huh?

In the seat next to Kara's were three abandoned movie posters. Someone had forgotten them in the theater - or just lost interest.