Freedom of Voice

For some reason, the idea of mirrors keeps presenting itself to me. Planted by movie trailers and songs, the word mirror  whispers in my ear. It made me think of Sylvia Plath's "Mirror"   (linked for your reading pleasure). The first time I read it was the year I taught English II for the first time. I was instantly drawn to it, but couldn't help but wonder what the publisher expected a bunch of 15- and 16-year-olds to take from it.  I tried anyway. I failed. Not an epic fail (I think a couple of girls related, but my class was boy-heavy), but not a roaring success. Yet the poem always sticks with me. I am not cruel; only truthful.  I know that the mirror is an inanimate object, a simple reflection of what stands before it.  But, add the human element, all of the vanity, the obsession with looks, the self-deprecation, and it comes to life. Confession time.  Although now I try so hard not to pass judgment on people's fashion choices, I have in...

I remember, back when my kids were in their Nickelodeon phase, watching the Amanda Bynes show. She was a younger version of Carol Burnett. One skit that still cracks me up is Procrastinator  .  Her signature line is, "I will get to it, e-v-e-n-t-u-a-l-l-y!" Oh, Amanda. We have lots in common.  I have two sides: the rip the bandaid off side and the ultimate procrastinator side. I've come to the realization that when something is undesirable but relatively quick to accomplish, I just rip off the bandaid and wash my hands of it. But, when the task is large and looming, I wait until I don't have a choice and then work feverishly to get it done. And, get it done I do. I work well under pressure. But, a few problems do arise from this modus operandi: I put myself in stressful situations, unnecessarily; I squander precious time; and I make stupid mistakes that I have to backtrack to fix. It's something I really need to work on. And, I'm sure I...

"Rock And Roll" by Led Zeppelin It's been a long time since I rock and rolled, It's been a long time since I did the Stroll. Ooh, let me get it back, let me get it back, Let me get it back, baby, where I come from. It's been a long time, been a long time, Been a long lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely, lonely time. Yes it has.  The rest of the lyrics to this awesome song don't really fit my current situation, but it's the song that came to my head as I thought about how long it's been since my fingers tapped on my keyboard to write something---anything---for this blog.  It's been a long time. I can't blame anyone, anything, but myself. Yes, I've been busy, but I have also squandered many an opportunity to write when I had some down time. Instead, I chose to sit on my couch watching re-runs of my favorite shows.   So, today, a mere 20 minutes before I am expecting a client, I sit in my office, tickety tapping away....