ROW80-1 -27/01 -Journeys and Destinations
January 27, 2019
I wrote a post on this topic for last week's Flash Fiction Friday prompt. I had journeyed to Toronto Wednesday night, and the normally 4 1/2 hour trip took almost 7 1/2 hours. There was a lot of snow, so we left late, then we had to wait for other trains to pass. Or for switches to thaw out. But most of the passengers I was with, an eclectic crowd, decided to focus on the journey, not the destination. It helped that we were in Business Class, with a nice lounge, free onboard drinks and food, and a remarkably pleasant attendant - considering she had started at 7 am.
I think life is a series of journeys too, each with a destination. And there are delays along the way, or changes in the track being followed. We can choose to be impatient for each journey to be over, to just get to the destination. Or we can choose to experience the journey, to learn from each little jog in the track, whether with delight or dismay. That's my choice. Similarly, my writing is a journey, with a destination, a polished final version. Unfortunately, I've started to focus too much on that destination, trying to perfect each phrase and sentence as I go. I'll try to break that habit.
Status:
- Write
- I sent in my 2500 word short story to the NYC Midnite competition. Fingers crossed, as it's only the first of three rounds. I'll put it online in a few days.
- I set another prompt for FlashFictionFriday. This one was to write about a journey. Bonus points if on a train.
- Write better
- Lot of good feedback from friends as I worked on the short story.
- I'm still up to date on the writerly sites I follow. Some good tips there.
- Publish/market - I handed out some business cards at the pub - that counts.
- Read -Wired magazine - I have a print subscription. Not just techie articles, it's quite good.
- Health
- After all the free drinks on the Wednesday train, Thursday was a dry day.
- 4/7 days I met my 7 hour goal of 'good' sleep.
- 7 day average 2400 steps. That's okay.
- Social
- Dropped by The Dizzy sports bar, nice talks with some patrons, and flirted chatted with the bartender.
- Called a birthday song in to my daughter and set a lunch date.
- Had a very friendly and fun train trip. I'm visiting my girlfriend and her brother was over for supper tonight. I like him.
- Fun - I did play some video games. More on Life is Strange but the challenges are starting to get annoying.
- Chores
- I cleaned a lot of snow of my car before leaving. Dead battery, but I'll worry later.
- I ordered new winter boots online and they got here in a day. Yay. Wrong size. Boo. I brought them back to the store here and spent a very long time at the returns desk, with several levels of support for both here and Ottawa. But, problem was resolved, and now they all know how to do it.
- Fitbit watch band broke, and I was able to order a replacement online for $10. It was delivered free in less than 2 hours. Gotta love Amazon Prime.
- I finally got winter boots, from Mountain Equipment Co-op. Sorels. Very nice.
Looks like you have reasonable, doable goals. Everything we do is certainly a journey and it's more important to enjoy the ride than the destination. For one reason, what if the destination isn't what you were expecting?
Keep up the good work!
Posted by: Chris Loehmer Kincaid | January 28, 2019 at 09:06 PM
I've been feeling a little lost this week but I like the idea of focusing on the journey. It sounds like you're making progress on your goals. That's great! I'm going to try to do the flash fiction journey challenge this week.
Posted by: Ginger | January 28, 2019 at 09:19 PM