Reincarnation!

At the end of this week (Dec, 2011), I will be crossing over.

I've lost count of the number of times that I’ve crossed over and experienced my reincarnation. I’ve been reborn so many times that I pity the entity which births me, their stretch marks.

Clearly, I’m not talking about your typical reincarnation, or a John Edward style ‘crossing over’. I plan on being alive and kicking for a good many….hours? days? weeks? months? years? decades? Barring, of course, the usual twists of Fate, be they being run over by a bus while crossing the street; being the unfortunate passenger in a derailed train carriage; clumsily slipping in the shower and cracking my head open, only to slowly bleed my life down the drain with the neighbours only realising something is wrong when the stench becomes overpowering. No, the re-birthing I’m talking about is of the vocational kind: the slipping into ‘white light’ of terminating one job and coming to term, kicking and screaming, full of life, anticipation and excitement into a new one.

Usually, the term of gestation between jobs is only a couple of days, or no more than a week, as I am generally someone who has my afterlife already pre-planned and arranged. No need to bury me with my court advisors (Buffy, Angel, House, Star Fleet), my preciously scribed tombs (Clive Cussler, Stephen King, Dean Koontz….and newest addition to the court, Matthew Reilly) or my chariots to see me through the journey (a dead Daewoo and a living Giant). Not normally. My passage through the darkened corridor is swift and my immortal soul barely skips a heart-beat. Normally.

While my departures from all employment existences (bar one) are due to acceptance of my time and at my own hand, with the approaching journey, limbo and/or purgatory aren’t looking quite the holiday they usually are. This time, the lighted tunnel is looking longer. This time, my fate is less certain. I’ve taken the plunge and left one job without the assurance of another.

Even when I was younger, bolder (not by much) and brasher (hardly ever, really), as dictated by my parents, I would always endeavour to have another job lined up before I left the current one. In my younger days, there wasn’t so much the worry of securing my next case of serfdom, as there weren’t that many commitments to attend to. These days, however, as I hobble my way over the threshold of middle age, I’m exceedingly aware of the not so youthful spring in my step. But in my usual style of always trying to see both sides of the coin (cross-eyed again), what I’ve lost in agility, I’ve gained in experience. Now it’s just a case of hoping to find somewhere to slip my experience into, and hope that it’s a good fit! (Otherwise, it’ll be hari kari for lunch, once again!)

While I’m feeling the nerves and a slight edge of worry, I’ve also got traces of a calming peace of mind that I’m on the right path this time. Destination: unknown, but that’s not a bad thing.

I Like To Watch!

I like to watch!!

I like to watch PEOPLE while they are doing ‘it’!

Now, I know that in polite society, that’s probably not something that people would like to hear spoken, or see written. So, let me clarify just what I’m talking about. I like to watch people doing ‘it’, where ‘it’ is just whatever it is that they are doing at the time. Yes, I’m one of those: a people watcher!

Be it sitting at a bar, or a café, or even just at a tram stop (I was so tempted to write bus stop, but the chances and likelihood that I’d actually catch a bus are pretty slim!). I like to watch as they walk past, to see what expressions they have on their faces, in comparison to the day, whether they are slow walkers, sprint walkers, amblers or creepers, scraping along at a snail’s pace, one shuffle at a time. It’s also fun to see how they interact with those around them.

Are you believing any of this yet? Have I sold you on this altruistic pass-time?

Nah, I didn’t think so. Rather than being a people watcher, it’s probably safer, and more accurate, to say that I am a people PERVER! I like to check out the people passing by, checking out the hot looking ones and hoping that I’ll catch their eye and they’ll catch mine. And if there is eye catching, then a wink will be thrown, which will produce a spontaneous smile (as opposed to a black eye or broken nose). What I’m REALLY hoping is that as I catch that hot fella eye, he’ll think that I’m hot (or at least okay), and there will be one of those serendipitous meetings with a happy (ever after) ending! My secret’s out: I’m a romantic! (Anyone who knows me will tell you that that is about as obvious as the sun-glare off my bald head! )

Unfortunately, or fortunately, I’ve seen way too many rom-coms which leave me thinking, “When will it be my turn?”, and that just maybe, one day, I’ll get to experience that same chance meeting, build up to the inevitable confrontation and have it resolve itself. Hopefully, all this will happen in a little more than two hours, and that it won’t be somewhat tragic, like in One Day! For, if that happens, (my rom-com meeting, not the tragic irony), then I’ll be able to get the answer to the question that always crosses my mind at the end of such movies: What happens after the Happy Ending? After the credits have rolled, how does life go on for the lucky couple? Sometimes, we get to find out, like in Speed 2 or Miss Congeniality 2 where the happy meeting and beginning romance, doesn’t last. Or is that just unfortunate for Sandra Bullock? Then you have other sequels like Legally Blonde 2, where the happy engaged couple are on their way to tying the knot and sealing their fate.

Or maybe it won’t be like that at all, just totally unexpected. If so, I hope that it happens soon.

Welcome to The 500 Experiment

Welcome to the first post of The 500 Experiment.

As I mentioned in the description, I hope to use this as a means of getting me back in the groove of writing, be it observational, fictional, interior monologue, or just bitching, moaning and getting shit off my chest. I might even throw in a little poetry, both past and future. Who knows what you will find if you test these waters.

The reason I’ve called this The 500 Experiment is for a couple of reasons. The first reason would be because of where I got the idea/inspiration for this re-launch of my blog in the first place. It was in a most unusual place: Sex & the City! Carrie was walking into Vogue to drop her 500 word article in (funny that she didn’t email that in). This made me consider that that could be a good place to start. In the past I’ve probably been too worried about just writing. Well, maybe not worried, per se, but it’s presented a block for me. To get me back in the saddle (or at least riding the keyboard), I just needed to give myself a target to aim for. Something a little more defined than, ‘Just sit down and write!’ So, from Sex & the City, came ‘The 500 Experiment’. Who would have thunk it.

The ‘Experiment’ part of the project comes from seeing if I can actually discipline myself to write something on a regular basis. When I first decided to use ‘500’, it was for the word count. Then, in the compounding way that my mind has a habit of working in, I toyed with the idea of making it 500 entries of 500 words. Obviously, 500 months of entries would be way too much. A) could I really come up with something to say for the next 40+ years??? and, B) would anyone REALLY want to read what I had for the next 40+ years!!! I found the prospect of both highly unlikely. Drawing it in a little, even 500 words for 500 weeks was going to be a stretch. Just under 10 years of my random ramblings, thoughts, bitching and ‘stories’. Nah, no-one would want to be inflicted with that, either. Besides, I had my doubts I could actually come up with something to write EVERY week, and to pad it out for 500 words (anything of interest, that is!) So, I’ve decided upon a MINIMUM of one 500 word post per month. If I feel inspired to write more, then so be it (articles, that is, not words!).

Of course, the final ‘challenge’ is to keep within the ‘500’ word parameter. Writing this first piece is a sampler to see what 500 words looks like, and what I‘ll need to come up with for each article. It will be interesting to see how I go editing and re-drafting to keep within my self-imposed limits.

So there it is, the reason for my embarking on this little escapade. I hope it proves to be interesting and insightful...for both of us!