Happy New Year 2020

January 1, 2020

It's quite a dilemma for us old-timers
A new decade and difficult rhymers
We well remember the old Y2K
The night Father Time held our computers at bay

We made it through then and 
we'll make it through now
We've not lived so long 
we're taking our bows
We say twenty-twenty like 
it's perfect eyesight
Even when we object 
with all of our might

It's happened again without 
our permission
We went to bed a teenager and woke
with something altogether different that's
going to drive us crazy before it's done with us

So on we go with a laugh and a smile
Cheered to have traveled this many miles
And while it's true we may shed a few tears
We're still happy to welcome another New Year

KC Kendricks

It's What You'd Expect

December 21, 2014

It's what you'd expect for the days leading up to Christmas. The hustle and bustle of the holidays, the last-minute rush for the last-minute gift replacement when something arrives via a shipper damaged. It's the Christmas card that somehow slid between the passenger seat and the console in the Charger. You know all those things are likely to happen. Then you get surprised in a good way.

Yesterday was the annual Christmas gathering at the sister-in-law's house. Word must have gotten around, most likely from the lips of my beloved, that I want a new mixer. Christmas seemed like the time to tell the man of the house that if he wants to continue to eat cookies, mama needs new equipment. Besides, he owes me. Long story short, there was some collusion happening. I received gift cards totaling $170 all for the same store, and that would be the store that sells the mixer I want. 

I think I have new respect for the sneakiness of the spousal unit. We're going to town this afternoon. 

On other fronts, I have to show up at the day job Monday and Tuesday and then I'm off until the following Monday. I'm happy to report the work is done. I just have to commune with the copier for a short while, then I'm free for my own devices. I think I'll dial up the plan for the 2015 A to Z Blogging Challenge and get serious about setting the daily topics. 

There's also a manuscript which needs to be turned in. I promised it by the end of the year so I need to fill out those dratted forms and get it all in. I've got another manuscript hanging in limbo and it can just hang. If I paid any attention to gossip at all it wouldn't be hanging, but that's for another blog. Gossip ain't my thing and my aversion to it bit me in the ass but I'm not about to become a gossip monger. 

Then there's the writing plan for 2015. I need to get that in order. I have deadlines for March 1, June 1 and September 1. What the fuck was I thinking? The deadline is not my friend. I get far too lazy with a deadline. When I know I have time, it slows me down. Not. A. Good. Thing.  Anyway, I need to work out a flexible plan for the coming year. 

So there it is. Like most of my "personal" blog entries, putting my thoughts into words has crystallized what I need to do. It's like talking out loud to myself with my fingers.  It's all part of my planning and organizing process and I'm happy to let you share in it here at Between the Keys.  

Have a healthy, safe and happy Christmas! 

KC
http://www.kckendricks.com

Mindfully doing

March 28, 2014

Is there ever a good time to be too busy? I wouldn't know. I'm always busy and to what degree hardly matters. Busy is busy in my world. I complete one task and another pops up on my list to take its place. I'm not whinging, mind you. I'd rather be busy than bored. But some days I need to step back, gather my wits, and figure out a new order for events my world. 

This morning was typical in that I arrived at work, settled at my desk with a cup of coffee, and opened my calendar. The A to Z Blogging Challenge is four days away - check. Moon Dances should be released April 5/6 - check. Sign up for My Sexy Saturday - um, no. There doesn't appear to be one this weekend. Bowling - check. Employer stuff - check, check, check, and check. Oil change - check. Price stone for driveway - check. Stop by the wine store - check. Coffee order - check. Yep, there's a lot on my list for today and what really needs to be there is a reminder to take a few deep breaths every morning. 

When I see my to-do list getting to this point I know it's time to prioritize a few things. Doing mind-lessly is very different from doing mind-fully and the latter is better. If I take on my tasks and do them mindfully, paying attention to what I'm actually doing, the result is more satisfying and my mental state more positive. Sound like psychiatric-speak? Perhaps, but I don't see it that way.

What I do know is if I pay attention to what I'm doing, even the more onerous tasks seem easier. I need to price stone for my long lane to repair the damage done this past winter. Calling the quarry is a pain in the ass because it's blatantly obvious quarry personnel as a whole don't like dealing with homeowners. I'll deal with them mindfully because the end result - a smooth surface on the lane - will be achieved more quickly than if I don't. And having a restored surface will make me happy every time I drive my Charger in and out the lane. So I'll take a deep breath and pick up the phone. 

But for the record, I won't need a deep breath before I stop at my local wine shack. I'll save that until I'm inside since they also now sell gourmet coffees. I expect to do quite a bit of mindful shopping when I get there this afternoon. After all, I'm buying moments to savor with the people I care about. I hope I'm never too busy for that. 

KC
http://www.kckendricks.com 


PS. That's not my calendar. I found a .jpg on the Internet after I screwed up taking a photo of mine. I wasn't mindful enough of the lighting.

7/5/14 PSS. Moon Dances is now available at http://www.amberquill.com/store/p/1943-Moon-Dances.aspx

Spring whispers

February 25, 2014

This has been a brutal winter. The mercury dipped to zero and snow, snow and more snow blanketed my part of the world. It seemed to drag down the spirit of everyone around me, and I could, with great empathy, relate to their feelings. 

It wasn't a fun winter for the two adults trapped together in a small house with nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. It's a good thing we know when to shut the f*ck up or things could have gotten serious. 

The cat, normally a brave and determined hunter, elected to remain indoors and did with much unhappy wailing constrain himself to the indignity of using his basement litter box. The old, wise dog completed his forays into the white wilderness with amazing speed and agility for a pup his age. I did say he was wise. 

My car, a 2006 Charger that corners on rails and has a top speed of.... um... never mind... was rendered yard art by the snow. With only six inches of clearance I didn't even bother to start the engine with fourteen inches of snow blanketing my long lane. I like the spousal unit's pickup but driving it every day is not my first choice. Compared to the Charger, it wallows like a hippo, but it does push the snow out of the way.

But, wait! There are signs of spring around me! 

The maple trees have pushed out tiny red tips (I'll be sneezing soon). The daffodils and tulips have broken ground and there was a flock of robins in my yard when I arrived home from work yesterday afternoon. Now if I could only spot a crocus in bloom, I'd know for sure spring lurks just one warm day away. 

KC Kendricks
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Accepting responsibility for your actions

June 17, 2013

It started out as any other Monday. I got up, went through my morning routine, drove to work, parked my car in my usual spot, and went inside to take care of business. I didn't get far.

I barely had the computer booted up when our custodian came into my office (a very excitable fellow on a good day and this was not) and said there'd been an accident in the parking lot involving my car.

Excuse me? My car?? My car was parked. I left her sitting in the sun, soaking up the rays, her pristine silver finish glistening with flawless perfection. When I parked her this morning she had not a scratch on her.

Then a woman driving a Ford Explorer somehow backed into my car. She cut across the parking lot and then backed up. And she backed up into the side of my car. Did I mention the lot I park in can accommodate seventy-five cars, but at 8:00 AM only three cars are on the lot? Mine, the custodian’s, and director’s. We’re the early birds - in early and out early.

Three cars in a huge lot and this careless woman can’t avoid them. 

Luckily for me the custodian and the financial director were in the parking lot at the time and saw it happen. Unluckily for her she wasn't able to rabbit out here, which by all reports was her first impulse.

What's wrong with people anyway? You make a careless mistake in your first impulse is to run and hide and try get away with it? Is that really where we’re going in this country?

I don't know why she thought she could run. Why would she want to bother trying to get away? How was this going to ruin HER day?

She's not the one who had to spend several hours on the phone with insurance companies. She's not the one who had to leave work and go to the body shop and get an estimate. She's not the one who had to go to the claims office and process a bunch paperwork. She's not the one who’s going to be driving some shit piece of rental car crap for four days. She simply thanked the police officer and merrily drove away. It's just not right.

I was minding my business. I was legally parked on my employer’s lot. She was on private property that doesn’t belong to her. And now I've lost a morning's work, my car is damaged, and I'm the one inconvenienced all the way around. And the person whose careless inattention caused the accident gets to drive away like nothing ever happened. It's just not right.

Just not right.

KC