A Time For Everything

First of all--apologies for missing both posting days last week. I ran out of days and energy and, quite frankly, give-a-damn to worry about it.

Life has taken a turn. Not a bad one, maybe a good one, although time will tell, but a turn none-the-less.

The point of this blog from the beginning was that, as an aspiring author, I should establish myself on various social media platforms for when I became published... So I picked blogging as my primary platform of choice. After sixteen years (WOW!) I have (only) two dozen followers. I'm grateful to all of you over the years for showing some level of interest in the journey of my life and my mind.

But as my knowledge and experience grew over time, I made decisions about how I'd steer my author "career." Forcing people to follow me on any of the social media platforms out there wasn't part of the equation. Hence the low number of followers.

I didn't bribe people to follow me or charge people a fee for taking part in drawing and giveaways. For most authors that fee was usually an email address which then was supposed to be used for sending newsletters. Which I never did because I blogged instead. If readers want to know me they could visit here and/or sign up for receiving my blog posts electronically.

I've mostly enjoyed blogging over the years and have kept on with it for personal reasons, but I'm reaching a point where the time it takes to think up topics, research as needed, and then write them up isn't worth the hassle or the ROI--which is, in all honesty, nothing.

I need things off my plate as my journey through life morphs changes, blogging seems like a likely target for plate-clearing.

That said, it's not happening yet, but I'm cutting back to every other Monday, and I'll be consistent with that until the end of the year. I'll revisit my feelings and my plate come the new year and I'll go from there.

* * * * *

I came across a YouTube video of Konstantin Kisin (the guy on the left) giving a speech at Oxford Union in the UK entitled "Woke Culture Has Gone Too Far."

What he said really spoke to me and so I was led to investigate his podcast...which I did and I've been impressed and enlightened.

Not every guest comes from a place that I agree with. Their guests are from many industries, from comedians to authors to scientists and more. Many guests are on the opposite side of the political aisle from me, but the thing I love most is that these guys value and present respectful dialogue with people who may have differing opinions than they do. That's something I really respect and admire, and that's something that's being lost in this country. 

While listening to the conversation, it's always interesting to me that while I may not agree with everything a guest says, there is usually a point or two that I do agree with. At the very least, the topics and points of view are definitely educational, and they are broadening my knowledge of what's going on in the world. I've even changed my mind about an issue or two.

So if you just want some intellectual stimulation, do check them out on YouTube or your favorite podcast platform.

* * * * *

And that's all I've got for this week. I'd been hoping for a few more topics, but that obviously didn't happen.

So...I'll see you in a couple of weeks.

Take care.

Image courtesy of IMGBIN.

Due to the much needed rain on Thanksgiving Day, DD and I did not make it to the zoo. I'm happy for the rain, but sad we missed the Dallas Zoo. Maybe we'll go over DD's Christmas break.

Instead, we watched Enola Holmes 2, had yummy treats, and enjoyed the cozy day. Friday, too, was low key and relaxing. Sorta. I'm used to some sort of daily structure, but Thursday and Friday were just played by ear. Treated as true holidays.

Saturday was more productive with the usual Saturday tasks: thinking ahead to grocery shopping as well as the upcoming week and what I plan to accomplish. I struggled the past couple of weeks with getting stuff done as my chore chart will attest. Last week was more holiday antsy-ness and anticipation than anything, but the week before that I had some emotional ups and down that hindered my usual energy and productivity levels.

Sunday was also pretty back-to-normal. Groceries were bought, dogs were bathed, and the upcoming week was prepped for. All in all, a good four-day break.

Since I was planning on a zoo picture filled post and that's no longer an option, I've turned this into a Miscellaneous-Monday-type, in case you hadn't figured that out.

So...

Rayna is hanging tough. She favored her front left leg a bit on Thursday, but seems to be putting light weight on it once again. We're gonna love on her until she tells us she's ready to go.

And...

In a much-desired turn of events, we've received an offer on Mom's house. The buyers offered $5K below asking, which is fine. I had asked the real estate agent to bump it up to allow for negotiating. The buyers didn't ask for any concessions, but I need to get the property off my hands. The offer was fair and closing is scheduled for December 14th. Yee haw.

Now...

I can look ahead to a cruise. I'd promised myself that once Mom passed and everything had been taken care of and put to bed, I was going to take another cruise. It's still going be a little while, but with the house selling and me receiving some of the proceeds, a cruise is one of the things that's been ear-marked for funding. I'm hoping to take all the kids along as well. If all the in-laws want to tag along, that could be fun too, but it's going to be mostly Sonshine's ability to get time off that's going to drive scheduling the cruise.

But...

Now that Thanksgiving is past, it's time to look ahead to--you guessed it--Christmas. I've received Christmas monies and started shopping. DD and I also have a few home-made gifts to make. I even bought new wrapping paper for this year. I'd been trying to use down the stock-piles and finally did, so I needed to replenish the stores.

 Also...

In recent weeks, I've discovered a couple of new podcasts. :0) One is called Warfare and discusses various topics in relationship to war. Sometimes it's a discussion about a specific war itself, such as the WWII Battle of Midway, but sometimes it's about the abstract things that happen in the buildup to wars. It's all fascinating.

The other podcast is called American History Hit that touches on random topics of America's history including things like Walt Disney accusing former colleagues of being communist or the dark history beneath Central Park.

You might be hearing about some of these historical tidbits in the future.

Finally...

I'm done rambling. I hope your Thanksgiving was all you hoped it would be. Take care and I'll be back (probably) on Thursday.

All good things must come to an end. I was going to brag on my hockey team who had tied their longest win streak in franchise history this past Monday. They had a chance to set a new record at eight wins last night, but lost. Granted, it was to one of the better teams in the league, but any team can beat any other team on any given night, so they could have done it. And were on their way to doing it, but seemed to rest an their laurels in the last few minutes of the game and gave up a two-goal lead in less than minute. *sigh*

Instead...let's talk podcasts.

As I said at the beginning, all good things must come to an end.

Puck Soup is my favorite podcast. I've mentioned it before, here and there. I won't bore you with how I found it, but it was the first and the favorite and has been a staple in my life for a good four? five? years now...

While this pod has its roots in another pod with a different pair of hosts, it started for me with Greg and Dave. Greg was a part of that original pod, but for whatever reason, one or both had to move on from it.

So Greg recruited Dave, and the two of them started this adventure called Puck Soup (version 1.0), mostly hockey news and talk (the PUCK) with some pop culture thrown in for fun (the SOUP).

I loved that version and the dynamic between the two of them...the jokes and the bits and the impressions. Oh, the impressions...

But then Dave needed to move on for career reasons, and Greg brought in two new voices, Ryan Lambert and Sean McIndoe, for Puck Soup, version 2.0... It took some time to get over missing Dave and adjusting to Ryan, who, sadly, has no use for Greg's impressions.

Wysh impressions are like sighting endangered species in the wild... I had a couple faves and I do miss hearing them. Sean is great and has a hockey-history-mind like a steel trap.

Now, because of contract terms with his employer, Greg can no longer host the pod. He's gonna be around for guest appearances and provide other content for the community, so we're not losing him completely. Thank the hockey gods because I just don't think I could handle the loss well at the moment.

I'm hearty believer in "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." I'm looking at you Special K and Apple.

As I said, I was disappointed with the loss of Dave from the original incarnation, but have come to love what Sean and Ryan bring to the table, er... the pod.

Sadly, even though nothing was ever broke, circumstances forced the morphing of the product. And while I'm sad that Greg won't be a part of the regular shenanigans, he'll be around and a new voice is taking his place--one I'm familiar with and actually enjoy and am looking forward to hearing on a more regular basis.

So here's to Puck Soup, no matter what version we're in. Long may it simmer.