Last night, while tidying up, I thought of something clever to blog about today. And of course, forgot to write it down - and of course, spent all day thinking about it and not getting anywhere.
So. What shall we talk about, blog?
For many years, I've had a lot of strange little rituals. Now, I wouldn't go so far as to say I'm OCD, but perhaps there are some borderline components that make up this eccentric part of my personality.
After I turn the shower off, I like to cup the last of the water that runs out of the faucet in my hands and throw it up over my head. Also, on the subject of showers, I can't really make it out of the house without one (unless I'm camping). I also, absolutely must with no exceptions have Chinese takeout on Christmas eve. Before writing, I will play one game of solitaire while listening to a loud selection from my super-secret embarrassing play list of doom.
When I was little, my Dad and I used to have a bedtime ritual based on a children's book I can no longer remember the title of. We would shake hands, and say, "And how do you do, and how do you do, and how do you do again!" It provided a sense of completion to the day - of comfort. Some days, I really miss it.
What are your little rituals?
5 comments:
That's "Misty Moisty Morning" - a traditional pome.
One Misty Moisty Morning
When cloudy was the weather,
I chanced to meet a man,
All dressed in leather
He was all dressed in leather
From his ... something ... to his chin
Singing how do you do and how do you do and how do you do again...
Oh, and my weirdest ritual for many years was something I later found out I shared with my sister, and neither of us can figure out why. Every time we cleaned the house while home alone, we'd put on loud music (not odd) and put on makeup and do our hair.
Yep. How often do I put on makeup usually? Only for Events. And housecleaning.
Of course, when am I home alone anymore?
That happens to me a lot. Thinking "I should blog this," and then I can't remember by the time I have time to sit down at the computer to type it. I used to be a post-a-day LJ type, and I wrote about whatever was on my mind or happened that day - I'd even keep a notebook with me to jot down stuff to blog about.
Then I realized I was just blogging and I wasn't actually WRITING. Or, at least writing anything I could sell, or potentially sell, looking more pie in the sky by the minute.
So I set my blog to private, and deleted the personal stuff. I kept my Adventures in Bookland posts, as I thought there might be a book in it or possibly a screenplay, some day, so until I can transcribe all my posts (oh, that LJ would give me a DOWNLOAD button!) it's still up there.
(Also, my handle, Gmajor I cannot seem to get anywhere else, so I've hung on to it Just. In. Case.)
I'm sure I have rituals, but I can't think of any off the top of my head. (One reason I've always disliked MEME posts.) It's 5:06AM EST, and that could be a factor. I got woken up by one of the cats snoring, and then was kept awake by my own thoughts.
Oh, I thought of one. I need a half hour or so of TV at bedtime, to calm my brain. If my partner and I discuss household matters or, God forbid, financial concerns, I'll be up all night.
It has to be something light, funny, entertaining. Usually a sitcom or two does the trick. In fact, whatever else we watch in the evening usually requires a "palate cleanser" (our term) at the end before bed. Lately, it's been sitcom classics. We finished two seasons of Night Court and we just started season one of M.A.S.H..
If I've been writing, I'll need this decompression time or I'll be THINKING and that's not conducive to sleep. The exception is when I've been writing for hours, usually late into the night, and I'm so completely exhausted by the time I'm done, that I collapse into unconsciousness the moment I hit the bed. If that happens, vivid nightmarish dreams usually follow, as the writer part of my brain keeps on chugging while I sleep. (Some of the outlines or loglines I sent you a while back came from those.)
I can't think of any writing rituals, although perhaps I should come up with some. I do like to have on my computer desktop an image consistent with the theme of what I'm writing. While writing Blood Relations I had photos of wolves on my desktop, for instance. When I write a spec, a cast photo, usually. Mostly the picture is there as an ass-kicker, to remind me to write, more than to inspire.
Arwen - I should have known you'd know. I was suspicious it was prose.
And I like the dress up and clean idea. Maybe next time, when I'm feeling opposed to the idea of cleaning, I'll try it.
Garner, I totally dig the palate cleanser TV idea. We do the same thing, though usually with Seinfeld of late because it's on at 11:00pm here.
I can't think of any rituals.
Maybe I need more rituals.
I eat every day. Is that a ritual?
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