Writing on Tuesday Afternoon

Fiḍál (Grace), 2 Mashíyyat (Will), 173 BE - Tuesday, September 27, 2016 AD about 4:15 PM Pacific Daylight Time 

It's Tuesday afternoon here in Las Vegas. I made an entry in my writing.com blog this morning. It was about the interesting neighborhood I live in. There were two other blog prompts that I ignored at the time. One of them concerned socioeconomic pressure on relationship. The other was about switching bodies with random people. I stared at each prompt for a few minutes and realized that there was no way I was going to write a logical or thought provoking prompt to either on. I posted the entry about my neighborhood to each of the three blog groups I belong to. 

Think back over those two blog prompts, I think one of them would make a good idea for a short story. I am in the  process of writing 44 short stories this year. I will use  the body switching prompt for one of the stories. I have finished 20 of the short stories and have 24 left to complete before December 31, 2016. I will finish story 21 either this evening or on Wednesday morning. 

Procrastination A Beautiful Autumn Afternoon

Jamál (Beauty), 19 ‘Izzat (Might), 173 BE - Sunday, September 25, 2016 AD about 1:44 PM Pacific Daylight Time 

It's a beautiful autumn afternoon here in Las Vegas. It's a good day to write or to finish something I started last Thursday or Friday. I have to finish and get it mailed off, but for some reason I don't want to do it. I think I've made the problem bigger in my mind by putting it off for so long. I should have finished it a week ago. There is no us shoulding on myself. There is no use putting it off anymore. I won't put it off anymore. I'm going to finish it on this beautiful autumn afternoon and  put it in the post on Monday. 

I do this all the time. I make something worse than it should be by putting it off. I've did this all my life. I keep saying I'm not going to put stuff like this off, but when the time comes I put it off. I put something off and the fear of finishing it builds. There is relief, so maybe that's why I put it off because once it is finished I feel relief. 

Autumnal Equinox 2016

Istijlál (Majesty), 16 ‘Izzat (Might), 173 BE - Thursday, September 22, 2016 AD about 12:16 Pacific Daylight Time 

In Las Vegas the wind is blowing 

Carrying litter 

Up and down the city's streets and avenues 

And depositing it into drainage inlets 

Blocking them and  preventing rainwater 

From draining into the flood control systems 

Potentially causing flooded roadways. 

I know this is a problem in every large city and small town across the nation. People throw their trash out car windows without thinking of the consequences of their actions. Maybe they think that the city's street sweeping equipment will pick up the litter before the next rain, but that isn't always true. The street sweeping machine usually passes through a neighborhood once a week, but it could rain before the machine passes or the litter could be too large for the machine to handle. If the litter is too large for the city equipment then other removal means are necessary. Sometimes a city can't pay for the other means or it rains before the scheduled time. 

I don't know if this entry will cause people to think about the consequences of throwing trash out the window of their cars. I suspect the people who do that won't think this entry applies to them (if they read the entry). 

Frustration Encourages Change

Kamál (Perfection), 13 ‘Izzat (Might), 173 BE - Monday, September 19, 2016 AD about Sunset Pacific Time 

I'm getting frustrated with surveys again. I think it's about time I cut down the number of survey groups I belong to. I have a couple sent to my g-mail inbox that I'm not qualifying for anymore. I'm not sure what is causing the problem, but I suspect I'm in the wrong demographic range. I'm taking this to mean that it's about time I withdrew and focused on something a little less frustrating. I hate to give up the  points I have in my accounts, but if I can't increase the points by the end of 2016 then I'm going to accept the lose and withdraw. 

I'm too old to be frustrated all the time because it isn't good for my health. Attempting to qualify for surveys takes time and it cuts into my writing time. I would rather write then do surveys. I enjoy writing and I don't enjoy the surveys any more. I think that's the answer to my problem. I hate admitting defeat, but perhaps it isn't admitting defeat. I think I need to change my view of the process and move on to something that is more satisfying. 

After Two Cups of Coffee and Breakfast Pastries

Jamál (Beauty), 12 ‘Izzat (Might), 173 BE - Sunday, September 18, 2016 AD about 10:48 AM Pacific Daylight Time 

After two mugs of coffee, 

A couple of three prayers, 

And breakfast pastries 

I'm feeling more positives. 

It's been a quiet morning. All the neighborhood are doing their own thing without making distracting noises. The only thing I hear right now is someone with a shovel or something either digging or pushing the shovel across the sidewalk. I'm no all the interested in what they are doing or why. After all this is broad daylight and I don't hear any sirens so whatever they are doing has to be either legal or uninteresting.  

I've managed to overcome the depression I was dealing with earlier. It took me several prayers, two mugs of coffee, one breakfast pastry, and two Girl Scout cookies to drive out the darkness. I'm smiling. I still need to laugh this morning, but I think a session on Facebook will take care of that. I can always depend on one of my friends or family to post something humorous and sometimes laugh-out-loud funny.  I've finished almost everything I have to do online, so I can go to today's spiritual services at the Baha'I Center. I still have some stuff I have to do after I return home, but that is quick and easy (I hope) to finish.    

Form Friday: Vahid

Istiqlál (Independence), 10 ‘Izzat (Might), 173 BE - Friday, September 16, 2016 AD about 12:39 PM Pacific Daylight Time  

I am thinking about a specific poetry form today called a Vahid. This is how I described the form when I wrote a poem yesterday using this description. "Vahid - means unity; it is composed of 1 or more stanzas with each stanza containing a total of 19 syllables, but without a specific stanza line count. There is no rhyme scheme required; however, the poem must focus on a specific theme or subject which usually makes up part of the title. It isn't required that the subject or theme be mentioned in the poem itself."  

I was describing the form from memory because I could not find any description not even a rudimentary one. Since I cannot find a proper description and I cannot claim the form as my own, I will just have to work with what I remember about it. I am changing the description slightly because I do not think that is a good description of the form. I wish I could remember where I ran across it; however, since I can only remember the form I will rewrite the description.  

Vahid, meaning unity, is composed of one or more stanzas with nineteen syllable each. The number of lines in each stanza is left up to the discretion of the poet. There is no required rhyme scheme, which allows the poet to use any rhyme at his or her sees fit. The poem must focus on a specific theme or subject, which usually makes up part of the title, but it does not require that the subject or theme be mentioned in the poem itself.   

Midweek Reflections on Consolidating my Efforts

‘Idál (Justice), 8 ‘Izzat (Might), 173 BE - Wednesday, September 14, 2016 AD about 10:09 AM Pacific Daylight Time 

There is a little over three months left in 2016 and I haven't accomplished all the goals I set in January. Therefore, I'm going to consolidate my efforts and cut down the blog post to every-other-day. I have decided to focus on this blog and my writing.com blog. I might make an exception to that if I finish rewriting and editing Scavengers this month. I have another Poet 999 blog, which I might drop all together. I'll make that decision by October 31. 

My focus for the rest of this month is accomplishing the wiring project I'm committed to do and finding a way to pay the power bill and the internet bill. I have all the other bills taken care of, with the exception of any meds I have to purchase the rest of the month. I think I have enough meds to last the rest of September, so it's the electricity and the internet that's the issue right now. 

That's all for now, unless I manage to find time to post to my writing.com blog today. I have to rewrite or edit two more chapters in Scavengers before I can respond to any blog prompts from my writing.com blog groups. I think the only other writing project I have this week is an entry for a contest on writing.com. I'm participating in the I Write August-September-October challenge and I need to enter one contest each week and then  post the information on the challenge forum. 

Scary News Stories

Kamál (Perfection), 6 ‘Izzat (Might), 173 BE - Monday, September 12, 2016 AD about 2:35  PM Pacific Daylight Time 

It's Monday afternoon and I'm probably behind on something. I'm not going to let that stop me from commenting on a couple of frightening news stories I encountered this today. The first I found on hothardware.com. It is an article written by Paul Lilly about a USB drive that can destroy any PC  it is plugged into. The article also states that there is a USB shield which can be  purchased from the same company that sells the USB Kill drive. 

The second scary story I discovered was about the full moon triggering earthquakes.  This is a USA Today article by Doyle Rice and is posted on msn.com. According to this article, big earthquakes could be more likely to occur during the full moon because of the moon's effects on the tides. After reading this story I have a new appreciation of the full moon and the way it interacts with the Earth. 

Sunday Contemplations in September

Jamál (Beauty), 5 ‘Izzat (Might), 173 BE - Sunday, September 11, 2016 AD about 11:53 AM Pacific Daylight Time 

This morning I went for a walk around the block. My neighborhood was quiet, so I didn't meat very many people or animals. I saw a man and his son being walked by their dog, a neighbor lady who was out  collecting aluminum cans, and a man who picked up a long metal pipe that was laying in the street by the curb. I enjoyed the silence and the walk. I liked the silence because it gave me a harmonious and spiritual feeling. 

As I walked I let my mind recite my morning prayers. This helped with the spiritual feeling because the prayers that went  through my mind were revealed by the Bab and Baha'u'llah. After getting home, I poured myself a large mug of coffee and removed the last two-bite brownies in the package. This means tomorrow I'll probably eat some of the cookies in my cookie jar. I'll also go to a couple of the food pantries to get some food because this month money is extremely tight. September is one of those months when I have more month than money. 

The money situation depresses me a little, but not as much as the world situation. Nationally and Internationally the situation for humanity appears to be getting worse. I believe the reason for this is that humanity is fractured into small groups that don't work with the rest of humanity. The only way to get ourselves through the present darkness is to work together as a single species.  We human beings need to work, play, and pray together. We can each pray to our individual concepts of God, but we need to let other prayer to their concept of God without telling them they're wrong. 

Trepidation Tuesday: I used to enjoy doing surveys

Fiḍál (Grace), 19 Asmá’(Names), 173 BE - Tuesday, September 6, 2016 AD about 3:08 PM Pacific Daylight Time 

Trepidation Tuesday may be too strong a title for this entry, but the agitation part of trepidation isn't. I'm agitated because I used to enjoy doing survey and lately they've become a chore. I no longer enjoy doing survey. I don't know why I don't  enjoy them anymore. Perhaps it's because it takes so long with so little reward at the end. Another reason is that I belong to too many survey groups. Therefore, I've decided to unsubscribe to some of the groups. 

This afternoon, I unsubscribed to two groups without checking the amount of points I had in them. I thought I would be upset because of the points, but I'm not. I feel better. I feel relaxed. I even smiled during the last survey I took even thought I didn't qualify for any points. I think that means I did the right thing by unsubscribing to  the two survey groups. I'm going to unsubscribe to a couple more because those aren't paying off like I thought they would when I joined them.  

It doesn't matter how much I might need the money that the accumulated points will equal. If I'm not enjoying the surveys then I'm not doing them with the proper attitude. It's the attitude that counts because when I enjoy the surveys I'm more likely the read and understand the questions. I can then think about my answers instest of just getting through the survey. 

Morning Exercise

Jamál (Beauty), 17 Asmá’(Names), 173 BE - Sunday, September 4, 2016 AD about 9:44 AM Pacific Daylight Time 

I took a walk down memory lane today 

Back to Blackwell May 

Of 1955. 

That was the year when a F5 tornado 

Destroyed half the town, 

I remember walking around 

Through dabre 

That just the day before 

Were houses and business 

That held happy people. 

I no longer live in Tornado Alley, 

But the memories 

Still surface.