FRIDAY STIR FRY - Oops - Make That Saturday

http://www.morguefile.com

Yeah, I forgot it was Friday. Well, I knew it was Friday, I forgot I was supposed to blog. To be fair, I was still in a turkey coma. I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Or, if you don't celebrate the holiday, you at least found something to be thankful for. After all, that's what it's all about (although the eating part is pretty great).

Here is my list of thankfulness.

1. Family. Even though they don't live close by, I at least get to talk to them on the phone or see posts on Facebook.
2. Friends to spend the day with. What a great bunch of people.
3. A roof over my head as humble as it may be.
4. A job I hate. Sounds weird, but really, not many people like their jobs. I'm blessed to have one.
5. A car to drive to that job.
6. America. I don't go around waving flags and such, but even with all our country's faults and troubles, I'd certainly rather live here than Syria.
7. Which brings me to freedom. I can dress however I want. I can go wherever I want. I can read whatever I like.

That's pretty much it. Take a moment and compile your own list. I guarantee it will make you feel better about life.

FRIDAY STIR FRY - Thanksgiving - sort of

Well, as you can see from the NaNo word count widget over there, I haven't made much progress on my story. Oh well. I've got five days off over Thanksgiving with nothing to do. Perhaps I can make some headway then. Pretty sure 50,000 is out of the question. I would be happy if I could just fill some gaping plot holes with plot bunnies. If you see any of those elusive things hopping around, send them my way please.

http://www.morguefile.com

Speaking of Thanksgiving, I've seen a lot of people on Facebook posting what they are thankful for. It's been interesting to read those. There's plenty of hate and discontent in the world so a little thankfulness is refreshing. I always have a hard time making my own list. It's not that I'm not thankful for stuff, it's just that sometimes it's hard to put into words. And that statement is coming from a writer. Weird. Kind of like a turkey in a graveyard weird.

To my readers here in America, Happy Thanksgiving. To the rest of the world, be kind to one another.

PS - My friend Tierney James will be hosting me on her blog this coming Monday the 24th. Be sure and stop by. It's a fun interview if I do say so myself.   

 http://www.ptierneyjames.blogspot.com

SECURITY

To be honest, one of the reasons I really started to pursue my writing with passion is because in America today, there is no security. Certainly not when it comes to our jobs. Don't get me wrong. I love creating stories and the whole writing process. But, let's face it - it would be nice to make some money doing what I love.

When my mother and father were in the work force, the older they got, the more valuable they became to their employer. Experience, wisdom, reliability was worth something. No more.
Especially in a right to work state like Missouri. You can get canned for no reason.

Yesterday, I worried.  To those who don't know me, I'm not a worrier. My motto has always been - worrying is wasted energy. But yesterday, I had this dread build up in me. "What would I do if I lost my job?" I'm old, I'm a bit crippled. I'm fat. I have no savings to speak of. What would I do?

Then today, a dear friend of mine who is about 20 years younger than me, lost his job. Were my feelings yesterday connected to him? I don't know. What I do know is, it made me madder than hell.
The people that fired him, picked his brain for his knowledge for 6 months and then wham, slam, bam, thank you man, you're gone. Just like that. No discussion as to what they could do to fit together. No compromise, no 'let's see what kind of future we can mold'. Just, get your things, you're done.

I believe he'll bounce back. He's too good at what he does not to. But it underlined what is wrong with America today. No respect, no values, no compromise.

I hope I can get my writing career going before I get canned because I'm expendable. If not, watch out Zach (my son), I'm moving in.