Blog Holiday

I've been on a bit of a blog holiday. My new summer schedule... well, sucks. I wake up at 5:30 am to get to the hospital, rush home to pick up the kids since there is either no or very expensive aftercare from camp, all the activities a 6 & 7 year old need to flourish and then hurriedly get to bed, wake up and do the same thing the next morning. Until the weekend, when I get to see private patients, and start the week all over again.

It's nice having longer hours in the afternoon & especially being with my kids without homework and annoying uniforms. But alas, it's put a bend in my creative endeavors and blog escape. So I will see you all in the occasional moments this summer, but otherwise, have a nice cool glass of lemonade for me. :-)

XOXO, me

Queen of the Road

One of our very own, & fellow shrink (only with a "D" instead of my "A" after the "M", ahem..), Doreen Orion had her book debut this month. I've had the privilege to not only interview her, but read her book and offer up a review.

I hope you all check it out! It's a great book to bring on summer vacation or a trip to the beach.

Writer Kat aka Reader Mom Amazon Review:
"I'm a Mom with no chance for vacation. So picking up this book was like a vicarious escape, complete with a martini & husband who does the dishes. Doreen Orion, in her book - Queen of the Road has captured the wild adventure of living on a bus and wrapped it up in page after page of laughs. She uses her flaws and foibles openly to draw in the reader, making it seem as though we are right there with her. Bus Butt and all. As the story unfolds, she shifts from self proclaimed Princess and shoe worshipper to someone who appreciates a night sky and no-TV dinners, reminding us that there is more to life than this crazy game we live in."

Interview with Doreen Orion

WK: You say that your husband suggested this year-long road trip but you’re the one who wrote the story. At what point in the journey did you realize there was a book in all of it?

DO: I actually thought there would be a story before we even left, although I had no idea how life-changing the trip would end up being. I assumed I would just write a humorous travel memoir. I hope I've done that, but also included the transformational aspects of the trip - all of us changed for the better during our journey - Tim, me, even the pets. I hope this ends up being inspirational for readers, as well. As the dedication of the book reads, "To anyone searching for his or her inner bus. You don't need your own driver (but it doesn't hurt)."

I was very lucky to have started blogging at the start of our trip, not to mention take all the notes I did throughout it. When I quote conversations in the book, I'm not relying on memory; whenever Tim and I had a funny exchange, I wrote it right down (much to his chagrin at times). I even took notes on what various tour guides said. (One even asked if he needed a lawyer.)

WK: Queen of the Road is your second book. Your first was about a very troubling situation. What was it like writing this book? Was one easier to write than the other?

DO: QUEEN OF THE ROAD was much easier to write than I KNOW YOU REALLY LOVE ME. The latter was about my being stalked for years by a former patient. It was a very difficult situation. The "bus thing" on the other hand was pure joy to experience (punctuated by terror, since I did develop a bus phobia) once I got over my initial, shall we say, "reluctance": Tim came home one day and completely out of the blue announced he wanted to "chuck it all" and travel around the country in a converted bus for a year. I demanded, "Why can't you be like a normal husband in a midlife crisis and have an affair or buy a Corvette?" Then informed him, "I will never, ever, EVER live on a bus." Even though we're both psychiatrists, he's obviously the better one.

WK: What came first, the chicken or the egg? Have you always wanted to write or did your adventures lead you to write?

DO: Growing up in Great Neck, NY (as my husband says, a “princess from the Island of Long”), I loved to write and could always be counted on to take creative license where none was called for. (To whit, the Ode to Geometry I foisted on my eighth grade math teacher.) It just never occurred to me to try to make a living at it. So, what was a Jewish only child to do? Why, go to medical school, of course.I didn’t write for years (thus sparing my medical school classmates and instructors Ode to Diseases of the Bowel). Then, the OJ trial hit and I heard an "expert" say, "Well, just because he stalked Nichole, doesn't mean he killed her." At that point, I had been stalked for six years and it occured to me that there was an incredible dearth of knowledge about stalking. So, I decided to write a book about my experience and use it as a jumping off point to discuss various aspects of stalking - the laws, what victims can do, the psychology of stalkers. I loved the experience of writing the book and I was hooked.

WK: Any thoughts on your next project?

DO: Yes. But, all I can say is that I doubt it will involve a bus, or shoes, or martini recipes (unfortunately in each case).

WK: What words of advice do you have for aspiring authors?

DO: Make sure you love to write. Don't do it for fame, glory and especially not money. Because I get this question so often, I have some tips for aspirting writers on my website, www.queenoftheroadthebook.com

3WW - writer prompt - dizzy.change.key

Come take a gander at Bone's 3WW XC

I'm ashamed to say I don't know what the hell number XC is in Roman Numeral, but I do know that 40 is XL, which I am reminded that so is my age and clothes.

Hub:
TBA

Me:
The merger was complete. The employees on the 9th floor of 2nd & Hyde could feel the change that had been slithering through the halls for days. It now coiled in corners of the conference room like snakes with fangs outstretched. They breathed in the fear, dizzy with anticipation of the fatal bite. Any moment the new CEO would walk in with a list of those facing financial ruin. What was so sure a year ago, was so surely not now. Just when the humid sweat of the room was reaching unbearable, they heard the turn of a key. The thick maple door opened to reveal the black suited giant. The air conditioner snapped on, blowing the door closed with a resounding boom.

Someone's turning 50!

It's Stephen Parrish!



Bash Stephen's Party

Men born in 1958 have a life expectancy of 67
Women have a life expectancy of 73.

Here's to 17 more years! (I'm rooting for many, many more, let the data be damned!)

There once was a guy named Stephen
Who knew politics, books and even...
His brain was so nifty
No one knew he was fifty
Until his memory went treason

Happy Birthday to Stephen!
I hope you have a great year. It's your Jubilee!

Hugs from Writer - Poli - Kat!

Politics - How much do you know?

Here's a cute test. I got a 4, apparently I have a lot to learn.

How much do you know?

Haiku

I've always been a lover of great Haiku. In days of old (ie when I had more than 2 minutes of silent & uninterrupted mind time), I would actually write some.

The first Haiku that ever spoke to me was this:

I am nothing
A red, sinking autumn sun
Took my name away

I have thought about what that means for 25 years.

Of course Pete is the best modern day Haiku'er I've read besides my favorite book "Office Haiku". I wish I could find that book now to share some of those, to make corporate life just slightly more bearable. (When you're bored, email all your work friends and write haikus about your job. It's very therapeutic.)

I just found the Haiku SmackDown. Love the name. Check it out.

Here's my entries (I think you have to see the pictures for the full monty - hopefully I'll get better so that you won't be required to view what I'm talking about. ;-)

The caution tape is
To protect further murder
By the skirted man.

Enough of pirates
Then to add a skeleton -
Party is over.

While his skirt is long,
Please don’t underestimate
His tight green clover.

It is not prom night
Put Madonna dress away
And get comfortable.

3WW - writer prompt - deny.smile.uncomfortable

3WW - Check it out. Thanks to Bone for another great week..

Note - these 2 entries have nothing to do with each other.

Hub:
I try to resist her, but her smile is too much for me. She has eyes that know me and can see right through me — I knew I was a
Goner. It wasn’t uncomfortable at all... It was that the longer I was around her, I lost all ability to resist her So, I never tried to deny it. On the contrary, I let myself fall into the deep end of the pool.

Me:
As she stepped onto the stage, she would reveal nothing but her smile. She had planned to win, and lost by a margin. Still, it was uncomfortable, the heart breaking defeat that she now had to face in her supporter's eyes. No one could deny her hard work or commitment to the job, but obviously, it was not enough.

MIA and various musings

I have been missing in action - I'm working a lot and exhausted at the end of the day. So I miss everyone & hope to be back...

Right now I feel very depressed about Hillary conceding. I really wanted her to win. I'm serious. I want to curl up in a ball and cry. The last time I seriously felt this way regarding the news was when OJ was acquitted. What the hell is that about??? Damn... Anyone else have strong feelings about the democratic primary coming to a close? Good or bad?

I have laryngitis today and am realizing how helpful it is to have a voice. It's a tad embarrassing having to shove myself up to someone else's ear just so they can hear me. Not to mention some people have rather hairy ears! And the condition is not particularly helpful in my job. I guess I'll have a few days of peace off, a nice break.

My writing time has been crappy, it's been on the back burner and I need to start prioritizing again. It's so hard with loads of laundry staring me in the face with their evil eyes insinuating that I've abandoned my home duties. And with my obsession with bleach white shirts, it's hard to keep up.

Anyway, I hope I don't sound like Debbie Downer. Life is good otherwise. I hope you all are exceedingly well.

:-)