Showing Up is 90% of the Work

Or that saying goes something like that. Upon realizing that I want to be a writer when I grow up - OK - I AM a writer already, I want to live off my writing - the competition is a mixed bag. A lot of writing is just plain bad, but, those people are actually writing and doing something. They are following through. And that's the problem with perfectionists, we wait until what we want to do is perfectly laid out from the vision in our mind and nothing ever gets done.

I've been busting my "fingers" to get my stories about Japan finished this week and sent them off to the editor Saturday and last night, to make deadline. She thanked me then sent out a generic email extending the deadline and that some people who offered to submit something haven't done so. I don't understand why people say they will do something then not follow through. If they can't do it, just explain why!

I found a grant for travel writers and I think I'm going to apply. All they can tell me is, "no." (Although, I think they just wouldn't respond since it's via email). The granter is looking for fresh ideas on destinations to visit and looking for ideas. I have a couple ideas on destinations I'd like to visit that have very little information written up about them (of course, there could be a reason for that). I'll see what happens.

I know I need to catch up on all sorts of adventures over the past few weekends, but here's a rundown of what's been happening:

*Visited Sarasota over the weekend - it was a LOT of time in the car. Those five hours are getting longer. BUT, it was good to see everyone and grateful for everyone's hospitality.

*Price I paid for fuel yesterday:

Sarasota $2.37
Lake City $2.49 (!!!!)
Tallahassee $2.22

*After five weeks of living without a paycheck, got my first one, yippee! Other income I took in last week:

$5 for taking an in-mall survey.
.14 (yes, that's fourteen cents) from American Express for some anti-litigation thing and foreign currency.

*My water bill for the month: I was concerned about utilities and was cautious about conserving when possible. The bill was $6.23. Don't get grossed out, I did take daily showers and washed my dishes accordingly. Guess the cost of living up here really is less than Sarasota! AND - if I take two in-mall surveys a month, I'd have enough to pay the water bill AND maybe a Starbucks frap.

*Filed and buffed my fingernails on the drive down to Sarasota. Realizing that's probably not a safe thing to do, I picked up Spanish language CDs for the return trip and intermingled the lesson with the Brazilian Girls' CD (only one of them is a girl, by the way - The Beatles weren't bugs!). I made it through lesson 4 and realized I still know a lot of Spanish.

*One time I felt old this week: Asking the music person at Best Buy for the Traveling Wilburys CD - She had never heard of them.

Gotta go do the laundry thing, until next time...