Musings – Writing Wrongs

Adventures in research: Stayin’ Alive

So in today’s adventures in research, the only thing I really wanted to know was how the song “Stayin’ Alive” was spelled.

But, in true internet rabbit-hole style, I also discovered the subreddit Ask Old People.

Y’all, I’m an old now.

But I do remember when the song “Stayin’ Alive” came out along with the movie Saturday Night Fever. Oh, that was a big deal, made bigger by the fact that the movie was rated R and I was in junior high at the time, much too young to go see it.

Saturday Night Fever was so popular that they eventually released a cut-up PG version, and we all packed the theaters to see it. Other than the iconic opening sequence, the only thing I remember is that the film was so sliced and diced as to be incomprehensible.

I never did see the full rated-R version. To this day, I have no idea what the movie is actually about. But I have this memory.

Honestly? That’s enough.

September’s siren song

There’s something about September. I love this month, and I always have. Even when I know we’re losing daylight. Soon, the sun will set at 5:00 p.m., and I’ll wonder why it feels like I should be in bed before I’ve even had dinner.

September is a good time to start things. I’ve (re)started the basement and garage cleanout. I’ve (re)started being more diligent with yoga. (And honestly, I don’t know why I stop; it always makes me feel better.)

So, I was thinking maybe it’s time to start blogging again. Yeah, I know. All the cool kids have a Substack. I don’t want a Substack. I have a perfectly good blog, and maybe no one else is blogging like it’s the early aughts, but that doesn’t mean I can’t.

I’m also thinking of (re)starting an accountability check-in. There are lots of reasons I stopped, the major one being grief. I’d like it to be a community thing to, if others would like to join in and use my blog as a weekly check-in. And it doesn’t have to be for writing or a creative project—it can be for anything you want.

I’d love to have you join in. I will be back tomorrow, fingers crossed, to post that entry.

How’s the Water: Taking Stock Before the New Year

In the next few weeks, we’ll be bombarded with all sorts of blog posts and articles, podcasts and self-help books about goals and accomplishments.

I have nothing against goals and accomplishments, but these messages often focus on lack: not being enough, doing enough, having enough.

Before all that happens, I want to remind you to stop, take a deep breath, and remind yourself that you already know things, have accomplished something, and have what you need.

If you’ve been on this planet long enough to own a device that brings you here, onto the internet, and (somehow) to my blog, then you have skills. You can read words and process them. That, in itself, is no small thing.

I think we don’t always recognize what we do know. Like the old joke, asking the fish how the water is, and the fish replies: What water?

We take for granted the things we do know and can do. Like the fish, it’s the water we swim in, and we don’t recognize that someone else may find what we do both fascinating and impressive.

So before you’re bombarded with all that you haven’t done or have yet accomplished, take stock. You know lots of things, and you can do lots of things, from the small to the large. Can you whistle? Know how to deal with a surly customer? Cook the perfect egg?

Skills. Serious skills. I mean, I’ve never been able to whistle, and all attempts to teach me have failed.

Take a moment to give yourself credit for everything you already do. Take a moment to celebrate your accomplishments—big and small—and recognize your value before the onslaught of the new year.

Take a moment to breathe.