A Picture I Took By My Bus Stop (I will have to look up the name)

A Picture I Took By My Bus Stop (I will have to look up the name)
I think these are Clematis (but don't quote me!) - This picture was taken by my bus stop

Sunday, May 22, 2011

Some Good News on the Blackberry Front or As it's Commonly Known as... the "BB"

Yesterday you've heard me complain about another Blackberry (BB) upgrade.  Today I have some good news.  Remember the Column View feature I so dearly missed?  Well it's back - sort of - kind of.   For instance I was very intrigued by a series of articles that my blogging friend Terry Giuliano Long posted on her blog about focusing on a story  (*I will try linking to her website again:
The Art & Craft of Writing Creatively

For some reason this didn't work yesterday!  If it still doesn't work, please see my links on the right of this page!

Anyway I was checking Twitter on my BB and came upon her Tweet (I'm beginning to feel like I have a speech impediment!) *double* anyway, I couldn't read her page.  I tried using Zoom which on every other web page seems to work (I suspect that Wordpress pages might be the problem) but when I did that it blew up the page.  The only way I could read it was if I moved the cursor from side to side - very annoying.  I quickly closed out of it.  If I didn't have my notebook handy I wouldn't have gone back to read the articles, which are very good by the way.  Today, mindful that my BB upgraded itself during the night, I poked around to see if anything radically different occurred.  The first thing I did is look at the Webpage Options.  Sure enough under Browser Options you now have the option to choose "List" View.   I know that I didn't see this when my BB was first upgraded (I could be wrong) but now when I view Terry's page and I use the Zoom feature, it sizes the page exactly to my screen, enlarging the font.  You still have to watch where you place your cursor though...if you don't place it in the center when you want to scroll up and down you will again experience the "sea-sickness" I experienced when my screen moved from side to side.  Just writing about it is making me dizzy!!  I also have a very bad head cold or allergy - I'm not sure which.  I'm hoping that I can do what I promised to do today:  continue on writing my own story and cleaning the house -- my son is coming home from college.  Sorry for digressing, this is the third time now.

Another thing to look out for, fellow bloggers, and I will repeat what I said in yesterday's post, is how your page will open on other devices other than IPads, Notebooks,  IPhones and God knows what else they'll come up.  I suspect the next iteration will be that we will be all planted with a microchip-hmmm great idea for a story but I'm sure someone already thought of it.  If not let me know and I'll get started right away!  Granted technology moves too fast sometimes, but will those lagging behind be able to view and read your page?

Let me know if you've found any time-saving or new ways of navigating on your Blackberry.   I know there must be some quick keys - so far I only know "B" for bottom of screen and "T" for top of the screen.


Ciao for now.  Have a great Sunday!

Saturday, May 21, 2011

I've Survived the End of the World - Will I Survive Another Blackberry Upgrade?

I'm afraid. No, not of the world ending. I'm pretty sure I've survived that but of my Blackberry upgrade.  This morning I noticed a new icon which just showed up on my Blackberry.  Next to the icon there's a great, big red dot that indicates it is time for another dreaded upgrade. Da Da Da Da Da Da Da Da (cue music from The Twilight Zone). 

For those of you who follow my blog, you've read my previous entry of "Why Can't They Leave Things Well Enough Alone?" You know what I've gone through trying to get used to the new settings, etc. My problem is that I now do most of my "other" work on my Blackberry.  Yes I now have two jobs and my time is very limited.  Unfortunately a lot of web pages are blocked at work and I also spend half my time on the so called "express" bus which is anything but express. As you know it was against my will that I bought the Blackberry in the first place (that will be another blog) but after I got it I was happy. My son wanted me to get a Droid but it was cost-prohibitive.  Sorry son - I love you and everything but we do have to keep a roof over our heads!   Since when did such a little-itty bitty phone get to be so expensive...so Verizon had a special which was buy one and get one free. I was due for an upgrade so like it or not, unless my son wanted to buy his own Droid, he would be stuck with the Blackberry (which he also loves BTW).  So far so good. 

As first I was disappointed because the Internet pages were too small to read even with my glasses (as an aside I am now part of the Senior Generation - but that's another blog) but then I found Column View Ahh. How I loved column view because it fit everything into the screen without my having to fiddle with anything. Unfortunately even though I've found so many wonderful things with this upgrade, such as having the ability to view multiple pages on the internet, the Zoom feature which replaces "Column View" doesn't always work. This morning for instance I found on Twitter - yes I am now Twittering!! I am so TweetHappy - I can be found as @FiorDiDee - nice ha? a really nice blog on http://www.tglong.com/blog/?p=359 on "8 Steps for Focusing Stories & Essays" because I think that's what I lack.  *Trying to add link  8 Steps For Focusing Stories & Essays; Focus, Part 2

When I clicked on the web page though the text was too large and even when I used the Zoom feature it was either still too large or too small.  I had to give up.  It was too much for me to slide from one side to the other to read the article.  So lesson for all of you bloggers out there - try not to put too many graphics or pictures - be mindful of those poor Blackberry owners like me who perhaps cannot log into their notebooks or laptops or IPads.

Sigh.  I will eventually have to upgrade.  I will let you know if I survive. 

Saturday, May 14, 2011

Mother's Day is Over....Waiting for the Laundry to Be Done...Everyday Should be Mother's Day!

Yes I had a wonderful day.  Mother's Day has passed - I know - but it only took me this long to polish and finish this post. Bear with me. It would be nice if everyday were Mother's day! So let's pretend. Let's go back to that day, shall we? Cue music.

My mother was over for the weekend.  I picked her up on Saturday afternoon, after I managed to post a story for critique and she stayed over until Sunday, Mother's day.  We finished the weekend off at my brother's house and visits from two of my adorable grand-nieces and nephews and nieces. 

My mother hasn't been over for the weekend in a long time. The little time I have on the weekend I've been busy writing my opus and I thought it was time - plus it was Mother's Day.  When it comes to writing, I feel like I have the Devil at my heels and I must outwit him.  Now that I've finally accepted that I'm a writer, an artist, and I will do whatever I can to reach my dream of having something published, I'm waiting for the other shoe to drop. My fantasy is being fed by the most horrible things I imagine will happen and so I'm frantically writing away. 

Mother's Day was predicted to be a beautiful weekend and it was. So off I went to pick Mom so she can get to do the two things she loves most: eating and shopping. I first took her to the Chinese Buffet -- she loves the buffet (so do I-and I only indulge when she's with me), shopped for lemons and other assorted vegetables (she's going to kill me if she reads this!), and other odds and ends.  We have to stop at every Odd Job and every Dollar Store in the vicinity otherwise she doesn't feel the weekend was productive.  She loves cups and pots - fascinated by them. The smaller the better. She must have hundreds in her cupboard by now! But we had a great time - that's all that matters.  The perfect ending was seeing both of my grand-nieces in one day.  What smart and wonderful little girls they are! 

Unfortunately all good things must end and it was back to reality.  There was laundry to be done and I hurried to do it before 11:00 pm while still struggling with what I had written earlier in the day. Reality intruded on my fantasy: my short stories still stink - okay maybe stink is too strong a word - and I have a long way to go.  There's so much I need to re-learn.  I feel like I've been asleep for thirty years and I've just woken up. At one time I was sure of my grammar, and now? I feel wholly inadequate and I need to play catch-up and revisit everything I think I know. How rusty I've become! It's as if I purposely forgot everything so I had a ready excuse not to write.   I need practice and more practice.  Oh Well.  

As soon as I came home I threw a load of laundry in the washing machine and there I was waiting for the dryer to finish.  Then it was off to bed.  Another day awaited.  How was your Mother's Day?

Tuesday, May 10, 2011

So I Lied...I'm Posting a Poem After All

We Rushed In

We rushed in like fools
for what we thought was love.
Loving then meant kind words,
and I was your “dear” and “honey,”
free to live out the future
without second guessing what we had.
Each day was easy, nothing was hard.
Words were spoken tenderly,
as we lay awake at night,
and we made love,
exploring,
devouring,
coming together as one.

And then the nights brought questions
We couldn’t find answers for.
The pillow was my friend
when words were hardly spoken,
when backs were turned,
when silence led us deeper
into regrets and doubts.

You couldn’t love me,
You couldn’t love yourself,
You couldn’t love the world
that embraced you.
Nothing was enough,
not the house,
not our son, whose searching
eyes you couldn’t pity.

Now someone else has taken my place.
Words of endearment
are hers now.
She is your "honey."
She is your "love."
You have taken
possession of all that she owns, all that she is.

Your shadow will soon fade,
But questions will remain
Haunting her days

Monday, May 9, 2011

Why Can't They Leave Things Well Enough Alone?

Just when I thought I knew everything I needed to know about my Blackberry along comes an upgrade that turns my life upside down!   I feel like Rick in Casablanca "Of all the gin joints, in all the towns, in all the world, ...." they have to change my Blackberry????

ANYWAY....I thought it would be a harmless little update.  Okay so I learned from the last update to save the drafts I wished to keep.  Last time all of the story and article ideas I had carefully typed on my Blackberry on my way to work while the Express bus hit every pothole on the boulevard, were wiped out.  My poor thumbs!  So along comes this upgrade.  This time though, I did save my drafts.  The first thing I noticed is that the home screen is entirely different. I quickly tested a couple of my favorite webpages to make sure that my beloved "column view" which facilitates the reading of the 1pt type by enlarging the font, is still there - but no - it's no longer available.  Oh woe is me.  In it's place there's a magnifying glass that makes the 1pt type humongous but the text doesn't fit on the screen so that I now  have to pan from side to side.  Do you feel my anxiety and frustration...this isn't fun!  And then trying to post!  OMG trying to type into those little text boxes is a trip.  I feel like I'm on an ocean liner in the middle of a stormy sea with my stomach doing flip-flops not knowing which way to go.  Where did my cursor go?  How I despaired!  But all is not lost.  Later in the day there's good news - great news actually - somehow the Zoom key regulated itself and now enlarges the text AND the text fills the the screen.  I don't have to pan from side to side.  The bad news is that now the Zoom key doesn't know when to stop and turn itself off.  I can't see when I post a comment so I need to zoom but when I do so, I'm stuck unable to extricate myself from the Zoom key:  I keep Zooming In and Zooming Out -  In and Out  even when I say "End ZOOM!"  Help!!  I haven't found a solution - yet -   and my choices are to either lose all that I've typed or close my eyes and hit the send button and hope that all is well, that in my predicament I somehow wrote a coherent sentence.


I know...I just have to get used to it.  But why can't they leave well enough alone????

(Note:  No you are not seeing things.  I re-edited the piece to make it flow better.)  

Saturday, May 7, 2011

I am so proud of myself but....

I would love to have the American Beauty Rose appear next to the Clematis.  Does Anyone have any ideas how I can do this? 

Thanks in advance.

Friday, May 6, 2011

Thank God It's Friday...Grazie a Dio che e Venerdi'

Hello Friends/ Ciao Amici,
I have so many Aliases I'm even confusing myself/Ci'ho tanti nomi che mi sono confusa pure io!

E la storia della mia vita / It's the story of my life

I've always live two lives/Ho sempre vissuto due vite (my Italian friends if this is incorrect, please let me know!)

Italiana/Americana/Seria/Capriciossa/Artista/Fannulona/

Spero che un giorno avro' soltando una identita' e che' il mondo sapra' di me/One day I hope to have one identity and that the world will know of me!

Okay enough of the experiment.  I wanted all of you to know what's it's like to know two languages.  I love it.  I wish I knew more languages except that it's troublesome when I try to explain or express certain feelings or ideas.  My emotions are still tied up with my Italian heritage.  Certain Italian words evoke the deepest stirrings:  Neve (snow), mela (apple), Fior di mandorla (almond flowers?). mare (sea), for example.  Sometimes I am caught unaware and the Italian word will come to me before the English word.

At one time- I wanted nothing to do with being Italian.  I wanted to be American through and through, but if you wish to write, like I do, you need to become friends with your deepest feelings -- you cannot shun them -- and I've come to realize that those were formed growing up in Italy.  Like it or not, they must be examined and archived so they can be retrieved at will, but they cannot be cast off.  But this conversation is getting way too serious for a Friday night! I'm off to add more color to my page.  Hopefully it will make you smile and want to come back more often.

Ciao per ora/Bye for Now - Buona Notte - Good Night!

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

It's Amazing What a Little Color Can Do...

I was looking at my blog today and noticed how blah it looked.  Too much brown.  Yes the birds are a nice touch, so soothing, but really?  I didn't want to put you to sleep.  I needed to change it and pronto. I want all of you to be excited to be here and be happy and gay and definitely not depressed.  I want this blog to be a happy place.  I can't wait to fill it with pictures, primarily of flowers or anything that I fancy really... but first, I have to learn how to do so.  Once I do, oh boy, this whole page will be filled with flowers.  Lately tulips make me very happy.  I love their open faces staring at the sky:  yellow, orange, white, red, pink, purple waving in the air, saying hi to all.  And don't forget the crocus and the daffodils. 

Amazing, isn't it, what a little color can do but how do you change it?  Everything sounds so simple.  Aye, there's the rub, how indeed?  I figuratively rolled up my sleeves and took a deep breath for it meant clicking here and clicking there, not knowing exactly what would happen to my screen, to my page!   Yikes talk about Alice in Wonderland.  I feel like Alice when I venture into this alternate reality - the INTERNET, the Blogs, The feeds, the Tweets!  Imagine Lewis Carroll having to keep up with a blog?  He'd probably still be trying to get to his blog post so he could finish his masterpiece.  I can see him being stuck trying to "EDIT HTML,"  he'd never get to Tweedle Dee and Tweedle Dum and forget the Mad Hatter's Tea Party!  The point, dear readers, is that there's always a learning curve, just like life, just like writing, it needs to be honed and sought. Sometimes not knowing is easier but knowledge is power. Don't ever forget it.  

What a sense of accomplishment I feel.  Tonight I tamed the beast, but tomorrow....What say you?


Anyway, dear readers, I did it!!!  I love the new color scheme.  Tell me what you think.

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Sigh...If Only...or What Could Have Been

No I'm not insinuating I could have been one of the contenders to marry Prince William but when I got married I thought I had married my prince charming but let's just say it didn't turn out well. 

Poor Princess Diana.  We had a lot in common.  We married and divorced at about the same time - give or take a couple of years - I have one son who's about Prince William's age too.  I even wore the same dress style she wore.  If I ever learn how to scan, I'll upload a picture of myself on that happy day.  And it was a happy day. 

I am very happy for Prince William.  I hope he and his Kate will be very happy together, but I knew this day would bring back many sad memories for me for it would remind me of my own failure.  My marriage could have been made in heaven, instead it deteriorated quickly into hell.  I have many wonderful memories, don't get me wrong.  But they ended too soon   My ex passed away in 2009.  We made peace at the end.  Perhaps in our next life we will appreciate each other more.

I was devastated when Princess Diana died.  My marriage bitterly broke up at the same time hers was in its last throes but I was happy when she started remaking her life.  She was young and beautiful and soon she would forget her heartache.  It gave me hope that my own life could be rebuilt.  It broke my heart when she died but I'm glad to say I triumphed and emerged victorious. 

When I finally got around to seeing the video of the wedding at about 9pm, I shed a few tears.  Of course nowadays I can't just do one thing.  I have become the queen of multi-tasking.  I watched it on CNN while using my exercise bike. Pathetic, isn't it? I shed a few tears (and hopefully a few pounds) for what could have been - Sigh.