Honest Thoughts from a Creative Slacker: Opening My Idea Box with the World (AKA My State of the Union Address)

I’m a creative person. But, I have a flaw that many creative people have. My flaw is thinking of ideas, getting excited about them, jotting them down, and then immediately getting another idea to focus on, and so the circle begins again.

OPENING THE BOX

As you can see, I was always kinda corny from the tagline of my box. Uh, actually... that I gave my box a tagline scares me.

The other day, I came across my “Idea Box.” It’s an old Mudd shoebox filled with shreds of my “light bulb moments.”

I was cleaning out a massive cabinet filled with way too many things I no longer need and the things I do need and want, were a scattered disarray. I was making good time with my office cleaning so I grabbed a fresh Sam Adams and took a trip down memory lane.

The contents of this box are incredibly varied. There are many types of paper: loose leaf. spiral. yellow legal pad. steno pad. There are ripped-off placemats. Napkins. Business cards. Smaller notebooks. Envelopes. Really– anything that could be a writing surface.

There are ideas in this box on Froggy 101 letterhead that still have (717) as the zip code of Northeast PA. I didn’t write down those ideas on that notepad when it was an old notepad. I wrote down those ideas when it was new, before (570) existed. Yeah. Wow.

Inside this idea box are many ideas:

• Greeting cards (one that actually got published by Oatmeal Studios in 2000… I guess I never took the original idea out of the box!)
• T-shirt sayings - many of these!
  
• Movie title or book title ideas. I’ve always been clever with names. Often, I think of a title and a very loose premise. But from the vast array of ideas here, it’s obvious evidence of my above-mentioned flaw. I have more ideas than time and sometimes know-how.
• Side note to above: One of those movie title ideas I had was Swing Vote. Yep, jotted down I am guessing at some point during my fierce Young Democrats days, inspired by an election night party (which was about a year of awesome times– just got busy).  I can’t even remember what my original plot idea was, but the title is what I jotted down. And, it was a title of another movie this year! Too funny. Guess at least the idea had a ring to it!
• Lines I Never Said. Sometimes I think of something cruel to say. Or funny. Or just inappropriate for the particular place I am at or the people I am with. However, I think to myself, “Well, I can’t *really* say that. But, it’d be really funny if I was writing a book one day about a guy who has this girlfriend, and then I can make him use this line…” Basically, all the things I thought were well-crafted witty responses that I never uttered out loud for one reason or another. I want to work them into dialogue of characters who *can* say them somehow someday.
• Lines I Said that More People Should Hear. I say some interesting things. I like wordplay. Sometimes I say something that I think is funny and then no one laughs and I am sure I’ve failed, but just as I think that, the people laugh. Yeah. Sometimes what I say takes a second to get. At any rate, there are some funny lines I’ve said that have generated laughter. Many I lost… fizzled into the air at barrooms and office spaces. But I managed to collect a few gems, and some are in this box. Now, I make a more valiant effort to keep a better log, now that I use a moleskine. (One example– Donna to Doug, Halloween 1999 at Hops & Barleys: “I wanted to dress up as you for Halloween, but Party City was out of asshole suits.”)
• Scribbles of Inventions. I am not the best artist. I think that’s why I am so hesitant to share ideas that require construction. But, I did scribble down ideas I had for nifty little gag gifts and gadgets.
• Songs. I found four songs. I have no musical talent, so maybe they are just called poems. But, I was at country radio at the time so I was all into country songs, story songs to be more specific. One song/poem I wrote in 1999 is called “Riding Shotgun” about a girl who is one of the guys (yeah, my life story but the rest of the song isn’t) but the guy finally asks her to sit up front. The song is about that summer. Fast forward to last year, Taylor Swift releases a song, not called that, but “riding shotgun” that’s part of the chorus. Again, at least I had a catchy idea. That someone else had a similar idea and it took off makes me happy that at least my ideas COULD go somewhere.
• Restaurant Ideas. I have four ideas for theme restaurants. One, I even bought decor for on eBay because I was so certain I’d create a business plan one day and wanted to sack up some goodies just incase. But now I think I will write stories around the ideas since I have no resources to actually become a restaurateur and plus I hate cleaning.
• Random Thoughts. A lot of times I just had thoughts that I knew I wanted to remember. Ponders about my life. Questions about the world around me. I jotted these ideas down with intentions of writing an article about them or in the case of thoughts about me, an essay.
• Letters. I found a letter to someone I broke up with explaining why I really broke up with him (I made an excuse that I liked someone else which was a terrible lie, but thought it made more sense than saying I wanted time alone). Obviously, he never got the letter and I forgot that I wrote it. But feelings in that letter, dated in 2001, still hold true today. Eight years later, I still feel the same way I felt in that letter– that I needed and wanted more. And it needed to start from within. I think rereading this letter shows me how far I HAVEN’T come creatively since then. Didn’t connect that dot until I am writing this blog post this very second, but there is so much I still want and need to do and I think that’s why I am still happily single.

OLD IDEAS MEET NEW IDEAS

A peek inside the box. Tons of scribble and inspiration, some I forget my train of thought at the moment. A lesson now is to write the date, where I was, and fully explain my thoughts so I can remember better later.

The past two years as most readers know, I’ve been working on my MA in creative writing and now the MFA. I feel accomplished that I finished my first book-length manuscript. Looking back, I know I didn’t do the best I could have in my creative life. As my idea box shows, I’ve had ideas for decades. The only thing that is holding me back is time.  I know that with support and discipline I CAN create anything I want and completing the MA taught me that. But what about everything else before and after the program? Since the last idea was put in this specific box, I’ve had troves of new ideas, now in moleskines or random places. I put all the “new” random ones inside this old box and have a stack of my notebooks by the box.

I need to do something with the ideas in this box. The worthwhile ones. What good are they doing in there? Area codes are changing as we speak. What I am waiting for? WHAT?

I need to make some serious changes in my life. Nothing I do is per se wrong, it’s how and when I do it. I need, need, need to get myself a schedule. I see people way busier than I accomplishing a lot more. I am a procrastinator and a time waster and I know it. It’s my other flaw. I am great at thinking of things but horrible at getting them done. My professional career is different- not talking about that. I have always excelled in that and always (hope) I will. It’s the things I do for myself that I can’t manage to carve time for.

I ask myself why I can’t do things as much as I should. Sometimes I answer with, “Because it’ll be our little secret. No one will know if you really nap until 2pm. No one else will know that you wrote a blog post instead of the short story idea you had. No one else knows you are doing all those quizzes on Facebook instead of revising that chapter. They may know what 80s rock song is most like your life, but they don’t know what you were SUPPOSED to be doing instead of that quiz.”

I don’t know if I have ADD or something that prevents me from focusing. And who cares. I’ve never talked to my doctor about it,  but probably won’t because I am sure its habitual. Sometimes I do wonder if it’s something greater, but usually I think my lack of focus goes back to me having to many ideas, too many things I want to do, and then not doing anything because I don’t know where to start.

At first, I wanted to focus on a healthy life style – get up early walk (and hope that can turn into running). But now, I think I want to get my creative energy up to a new level. I think once that’s up there and I am happy, the rest of me will change and become more motivated to get the rest of me in shape.

I want my body’s creative energy to match my mental creative energy.

If my hands could go as fast as my brain, I know I’d get more done.

I wake up every day wanting to change my habits.

And every day, I hit snooze until the last moment possible.

I come home from work every day wanting to change my habits.

And every day, I get sidetracked…

..by a magazine, social media (I love it and am the first to admit I do it too much), looking up band bios on the new artist I heard on Pandora which leads to buying stuff on iTunes… and then, I get tired and go to sleep.

And then I wake up… and the cycle begins again.

(gosh.. coming up for air here… didn’t think this post would be so long, but this shows how much really has been on my mind as of late, and this was meant to be a check-list of what I want to do, and it turned into a whole backstory… but that’s okay, writing it out is making it more real…)

THE PLAN FOR CHANGE - and it’s just that, a plan. I am making no great claim that I will be able to accomplish this. But, I welcome help, support, feedback, and ass-kicking from anyone who knows me. Someone once told me (and he was quoting a great motivational speaker) that the key to success is writing down your goals. I take that a step further by sharing these goals. Some may think its too personal to share these goals and self-revelations, but not me. Here’s why:

• The people that care can read this and know what I am feeling and help.
• The people I don’t know who may struggle like I do, may be inspired.
• Being honest and sharing thoughts helps others, it truly does. We’re all human, and it helps to be reminded.
• Finally, sharing these goals holds me accountable for them.

Lately, thanks to a guy I blogged about the other week that I’ve known for some time, I’ve been attending a lot of local art events at Paper Kite Press. Meeting new people and being exposed to all this creativity has really inspired me again. The creative writing program of course inspired me, too. But this adds to it. This is something, somewhere local where I am seeing all different things that people are creating and sharing- art, music, knowledge, poetry, theater, and more. People have so much to share and it made me realize how little I have to share – of course I have ideas and insight to share, but here I mean “physically share.” Sure, I’ve done A LOT of feature writing and have bins of articles that I am super proud of. But, I am talking the creative stuff, the stuff for me. Short stories, essays, and such.

Today, I made a list of things that I want to do in myself to improve my creativity. Some are easy, some take more effort. Some I will start today, some may be good ideas that may take me a while. But, this is what I came up with:

1. Hand-write something each morning or night. I want to journal more. I realized I miss pencils. As silly as that seems, I do really miss writing with a pencil. There’s just something different. The pressure applied to the lead can be a measure of the emotion I put into the writing. Was it hard? Was it light? It’s something beyond the content of the words that shows how I felt when I was writing. Pencil writing looks gritty sometimes, too and I like it. I saw a new book out from I think Chronicle Books about the art of handwriting. I notice my own penmanship getting sloppy. So, handwriting each day will accomplish many things, including helping me get feelings out and de-stress. This may be a way for me to get back into my dream journal, too.

2. Call one person a day for meaningful conversation.

I am told very often by people that I am one of the most social people they know. I love to talk to people. I love to meet new people. I love being part of conversation. But something very bad is happening to me. I love email. I love Twitter. I love Facebook. I love texting. Boy, do I love texting. All have their roles in communication and I encourage the use of all of them. But they are no replacement for talking to someone. Easier said than done. It makes me sad to know that I don’t take calls, for no reason other than– well, damn. There’s not even a way to explain it. Have I become AFRAID of the phone? I talk fine in conversation in person, and frequently converse online. But I will let a call go to voicemail and then text that person. I am ashamed. So, I am committing to talking on the phone more. I would like to reach out to old friends and family members that I hardly speak to. I think calling people and talking in person will be inspiring. It may not directly be related to creativity, but for me, I know hearing voices I don’t hear often will be refreshing. An LOL can never replace a real but of laughter shared between friends. Talking on the phone with people will help me begin to be a more active person again. A better person. A better friend.

3. Listen to some kind of new music each day.

I am already doing this thanks to Pandora. I will just continue this. I do not know if I am different (well, I am), but I am a very visual-thinking person. When I hear a song, I think in movie montage format. I get all sorts of images that go to the beat of a song. A few months ago, I made a mix of songs that reminded me of my childhood and teenage years to help inspire the memoir. When songs would come on, I’d close my eyes and picture me doing something with some friends and then, like magic, a little detail would pop out. Something so small like my friend Dewayne with a Tarheels hat on. I was able to go back and add more detail to my memoir because of almost a hypnotic memory. New music does this, too. I can’t explain it, but it just makes me think of faces, places, even ones I’ve never seen before. Which means that I just created something.

4. Attend one arts-infused event a week.

I have been loving going to Paper Kite. I know there is more in our area that I have not been exposed to yet. I have to also realize it’s okay to do these things alone. In fact, doing them alone may even be better. I think my social-ness sometimes makes my life too fast to keep up with. Spending some quiet time to myself to be inspired and just think will do me good. I want to start paying attention more to the paper for these events and attend them in groups or by myself. Either way, notebook in tow. Phone off.

5. Find a class to take.

I think visually. Yet, I’ve never created anything visual. Maybe I have some untapped talent? I would like to find a class or clinic to take to try something new. Painting, pottery, drawing… something like that. Start with one class, and when its over, find something else. This again will also give me discipline to create something.

6. Find a local writers group.

I have awesome classmates and colleagues from the Wilkes program and we meet as much as we can. But I think I also need to find something regular that is close by. I will start to look out for one, or form one. Some people I know from Wilkes have been trying to start a local group and I should follow up on that.

7. Turn off the Internet. Sometimes.

When I am writing I need to make a better effort to not open the Internet browser. I work in the industry and it’s my job and my passion- I always have loved it. In 1995, my friend Jenn and I were featured in the Pocono Record as teenagers of the future when the Internet was just starting to become an everyday thing (we were selected because we had a column in the school paper called “Nothing But Net” where we reviewed five websites a week). However, my other passion is writing and creating. From reading this, you know I am easily distracted. Having the world in the next tab away is a hard thing for me to refuse. But, I need to keep Word, and only Word open while I work. I need to find that balance. It’s acutally becoming destrucive.

8. Read and write every day. I don’t. I am only partially ashamed to admit that. I know many other writers who get in slumps. My slump has lasted too long. I have two shelves with books that look pretty sitting there, but they aren’t being read. I need to read every day so that I can get through these. I need to write every day as well, hopefully on a story or two so I can have a new, complete work to share and none of this, “I have an idea and write two pages” nonsense. I need to COMPLETE something. But even if the writing for that one day is just that hand-written piece I mentioned above, that’s okay. It’s a start to being more productive.

9. Give back. I mean this in person and virtually. Creativity is good for the individual as an outlet, but it’s much better when its shared. Aside from sharing the creative work, sharing the process also helps. I am pretty active in the social networking realm. I read a lot of writer, agent, and editor blogs. I comment sometimes but mostly absorb knowledge. I am going to start to be more active in those online communities to share things that I have learned along the way, or when someone inspired me on one of those blogs, I am going to comment to them that they helped me. That gratitude goes a long way. I am going to write more book reviews and am going to blog more about the people I meet along the way and what they contributed to be and to the world. Finally, I want to be more active in the local scene. I did my first public reading in April. It’s been four months since. I need to do that more. A lot more.

To sum up this novel-length post:

I want to come up with an action plan so that my professional life, social life, and writing life can live in harmony and implement these changes to produce more work and build a better, more active life surrounded by creativity and inspiration.

Learning About Me: I am a Bleeding ENFP!

I did the Myers-Briggs personality test a few times before and, of course, an an ENFP. I did the test on Facebook tonight and got the same results. What is an ENFP?

I also found a few more sites and redid the test and got some more specific feedback, like my percentages on each (this is from SimilarMinds.com):

• Extroverted (E) 75% Introverted (I) 25%
• Intuitive (N) 75.76% Sensing (S) 24.24%
• Feeling (F) 70.59% Thinking (T) 29.41%
  Perceiving (P) 76.47% Judging (J) 23.53%

Some personality traits of an ENFP, which I pretty much fit the bill for all of these

outgoing, social, disorganized, easily talked into doing silly things, spontaneous, wild and crazy, acts without thinking, good at getting people to have fun, pleasure seeking, irresponsible, physically affectionate, risk taker, thrill seeker, likely to have or want a tattoo, adventurous, unprepared, attention seeking, hyperactive, irrational, loves crowds, rule breaker, prone to losing things, seductive, easily distracted, open, revealing, comfortable in unfamiliar situations, attracted to strange things, non punctual, likes to stand out, likes to try new things, fun seeker, unconventional, energetic, impulsive, empathetic, dangerous, loving, attachment prone, prone to fantasy

Careers the ENFP people like, according to SimiliarMinds.com (I bolded ones I’ve had):

performer, actor, entertainer, songwriter, musician, filmmaker, comedian, radio broadcaster/dj, some job related to theater/drama, poet, music journalist, work in fashion industry, singer, movie producer, playwright, bartender, comic book author, work in television, dancer, artist, record store owner, model, freelance artist, teacher (art, drama, music), writer, painter, massage therapist, costume designer, choreographer, make up artist

Curious, I found this site that I went to a few years ago, SimilarMinds.com. I stumbled upon it again, and just started taking all the quizzes again. I am pretty sure they are all the same results I received when I did them before. So here are results from some of them:

My Brain Lateralization Test:

Brain Lateralization Test Results

Right Brain (74%) The right hemisphere is the visual, figurative, artistic, and intuitive side of the brain. Left Brain (28%) The left hemisphere is the logical, articulate, assertive, and practical side of the brain

Are You Right or Left Brained?
personality tests by similarminds.com

My Global Personality Test:

Stability (70%) high which suggests you are very relaxed, calm, secure, and optimistic.. Orderliness (20%) low which suggests you are overly flexible, improvised, and fun seeking at the expense too often of reliability, work ethic, and long term accomplishment. Extraversion (80%) high which suggests you are overly talkative, outgoing, sociable and interacting at the expense too often of developing your own individual interests and internally based identity.

Take Free Global Personality Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

And then, this test also said these were my traits: messy, disorganized, social, tough, outgoing, rarely worries, self revealing, open, risk taker, likes the unknown, likes large parties, makes friends easily, likes to stand out, likes to make fun of people, reckless, optimistic, positive, strong, does not like to be alone, ambivalent about chaos, abstract, impractical, not good at saving money, fearless, trusting, thrill seeker, not rule conscious, enjoys leadership, strange, loves food, abstract, rarely irritated, anti-authority, attracted to the counter culture

My Cattell 16 Factor Test: So this basically sums me up as being different and wanting everyone to know I am different, which makes perfect sense since here I am blogging about this! Ha!

Cattell’s 16 Factor Test Results Warmth ||||||||||||||||||||| 70% Intellect ||||||||||||||||||||| 66% Emotional Stability ||||||||||||||||||||| 62% Aggressiveness |||||||||||| 38% Liveliness |||||||||||||||||||||||| 74% Dutifulness |||||||||||| 38% Social Assertiveness |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 90% Sensitivity ||||||||||||||| 50% Paranoia ||||||||||||||| 46% Abstractness |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 86% Introversion ||||||||| 26% Anxiety |||||||||||| 38% Openmindedness |||||||||||||||||||||||||||| 86% Independence ||||||||||||||| 46% Perfectionism |||||||||||| 38% Tension ||||||||| 22%

Take Cattell 16 Factor Test (similar to 16pf)
personality tests by similarminds.com

My Personality Disorder Test: The site explained these disorders, too. They aren’t what you think though.

Personality Disorder Test Results Paranoid |||||| 26% Schizoid |||||| 30% Schizotypal |||||||||||||||||| 78% Antisocial |||||||||| 38% Borderline |||||| 22% Histrionic |||||||||||| 42% Narcissistic |||||||||||||||| 70% Avoidant |||||| 26% Dependent |||||||||| 34% Obsessive-Compulsive |||| 14%

Take Free Personality Disorder Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

My Maslow Test Results: So, basically I get from this that the most important thing to me is to be accepted by others, followed by having food.

Maslow Inventory Results

Physiological Needs (54%) you appear to have an adequate supply of basic necessities. Safety Needs (27%) you appear to have a very secure environment. Love Needs (44%) you appear to be semi-content with the quality of your social connections. Esteem Needs (60%) you appear to have a medium level of skill competence. Self-Actualization (55%) you appear to have an average level of individual development.

Take Free Maslow Inventory Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

My Freudian Inventory Test: Yeah, so this basically says I am open on *cough* many levels.

Freudian Inventory Results

Oral (53%) you appear to have a good balance of independence and interdependence knowing when to accept help and when to do things on your own. Anal (30%) you appear to be overly lacking in self control and organization, and possibly have a compulsive need to defy authority. If you are too scatterbrained, you will not develop much as a person as you will habitually switch paths before you ever learn anything. Phallic (73%) you appear to have issues with controlling your sexual desires and possibly fidelity. Latency (66%) you appear to be afraid or averse to present or future real world responsibilities, this will only make your inevitable transition more difficult, so learn to deal with the real world. Genital (80%) you appear to have a progressive and openminded outlook on life unbeholden to regressive forces like traditional authority and convention.

Take Free Freudian Inventory Test
personality tests by similarminds.com

These were fun and very interesting and basically, tell me what I already know. I am pretty open-minded, creative, unique, concerned about others, and like to beat to my own drum, WHEN I want to beat to it. Haha. I am pretty happy with my world-view and personality.

I’m interested in knowing what everyone else is, too.

Two Year Anniversary at Solid Cactus!

Time flies when you are having fun.  So much so that I didn’t even realize that yesterday was my two-year anniversary at Solid Cactus.  It seriously feels like I’ve been here longer than that!! The past 730 days have been awesome, learning something new about e-commerce and social media every day, helping great entrepreneurs start or grow their e-commerce businesses, meeting clients in person at events like our Boot Camp and trade shows and more.  It’s been quite the adventure and I look forward to more!!  I could not ask for a better place to work- I get to wear jeans and witty and nostalgic t-shirts every day and get to share quarters with some of the most creative and innovative people I’ve ever met!  (Not to mention funniest!)  So- just had to say something here about Solid Cactus.

I blog a lot about work… read all the posts, here: http://donnatalarico.wordpress.com/?s=solid+cactus

Weekender Cover Story- Crime in Wilkes-Barre

I had the cover story in the June 3, 2009 issue of The Weekender, focusing on the recent increase of violent crime in Wilkes-Barre. For the story, I interviewed Mayor Tom Leighton, Police Chief Gerard Dessoye, a sociology professor, a business owner and a city resident to get all views. Despite the tough subject matter (I mean, it’s about death), I enjoyed this story because it was one that needed to be told! Thanks, Weekender for asking me to tackle this current event story!

Here’s a snippet:

Anywhere but Wilkes-Barre. That’s the job search criteria for one local young professional.

Steve Moyer, 25, of Wilkes-Barre’s North End is looking beyond the local classifieds because he said the city isn’t as safe as it once was.

“[Deciding to leave] the area did not originate because of the violence, however, that is slowly becoming a reason. …,” he said. “The recent escalation has me looking for greener pastures.”

In 2009, there have been seven homicides in Luzerne County. Four of them have been in Wilkes-Barre — fourth most in the state. Wilkes-Barre, with an estimated 41,069 residents, is the 22nd largest city in Pennsylvania, according to the 2000 U.S. census. In murders, however, Wilkes-Barre has a much higher ranking, trailing only Philadelphia (1.5 million residents), Pittsburgh (311,218) and Harrisburg (47,196).

You can read the entire story here.

Beantown Vacation- Brick Red, Red Sox, Freedom Trail, a Camera Thief, and Fun Strangers

I got back from Beantown and had to dive right back into an eventful work, school and social life, so I didn’t get a chance to blog about Beantown!  I took a four-day, Memorial Day weekend to Boston with two work friends– and we had an absolute blast!

We left around 6am Friday morning, and arrived in Boston shortly before noon- only stopping to pee and for more coffee along the way.  We first checked in to our hotel, Nine Zero which is a boutique hotel near Boston Commons.  It was a really chic, hip place!  The hotel had daily wine socials, but we were so busy– or napping- that we never made one.  After checking in on Friday and setting up camp, we headed on CHARLIE (the subway system in Boston) to Sam Adams brewery for a tour.  We had an adorable tour guide.  I stayed up front the whole time, asking educated questions, impressing our guide, Shaw (or so I like to think.)  We then headed to the tasting room where we were able to sample three types of Sam Adams:  Boston Lager, Summer Ale and a new brew, Brick Red, which is only available in Boston, on draught.  That was my favorite one, and I continued to drink it all weekend.  We were taught how to experience and taste a beer, and we didn’t leave without embarrassment- our very own Lindsey spilled beer (she over-poured) and was asked to stand and give an apology, to which the tour of probably 60 people or so, applauded.

Later that night, we hit up a neat Irish pub called Kitty O’Sheas for dinner and drinks.  The food was amazing, the service friendly and the crowd was awesome as well.  It was one of those places you meet instant friends.  Later in to the night, the bar turned into a dance club as a DJ came on.  I stayed into the night, making a new circle of friends and danced all night… meeting locals, people from Texas, New York and more.  It was here that my camera was stolen.  I was tweeting and facebooking all night about how nice people were and how much fun I was having, and that had to happen.  I’m over it now, but I hadn’t blogged about that yet, so figured I’d add that. (And of course, I have no pics from this portions of the trip.)

Saturday, we slept in and woke up to no water in the hotel.  For that, we were given free breakfast at the posh hotel restaurant.  We did some site-seeing around town, the coolest being the SkyWalk, where we were able to get a view of all sides of Boston from atop the Prudential Building (where there was a anime convention also happening, so lots of cool costumes).  On the interior of the Skywalk were little museum exhibits.  Lindsey, Karen and I also had a total blast– and a tearful laughing fit- in two separate photo booth experiences.  Total fun!  I also found a Ritz camera where I purchased a new camera.  I could not be without a camera for the rest of the trip.

Saturday night, we did the Red Sox game- Sox vs. the Mets.  It was my first major league baseball game and it was a total blast.  I had a Fenway frank and lots of Sam Adams.  I was even bathed in beer from a Mets fan behind us.  I went into the game rooting for no one.  I told everyone around us that Lindsey was Sox, Karen was Mets and I was Switzerland.  (Which of course led me to tell the story about the one time in San Fran where I made out with a dude from Switzerland.) After the game, we got a little lost- not necessarily lost, just trying to find an alternate route home than the other thousands of people.  We had big plans of a post-game booze fest, but decided to crash instead.

Sunday morning we got up in the late morning, got ready and had a great breakfast– well, but this time, brunch- at the Beantown Pub, which was right next to the hotel .  We did some of the Freedom Trail.  There was a huge thunderstorm that sent us back to the hotel.  We hung out in the hotel for a while and when the rain stopped, we went for a walk around the beautiful Beacon Hill section.  I went to a psychic and then the three of us had a great dinner at The Sevens, a dark little pub where I had the most awesome tuna melt ever and finally had real Boston baked beans.  After a day of walking, we went back to the hotel to get ready for a last hurrah in Beantown.

We ended up back the Beantown Pub, where we had breakfast, and had a great night.  I introduced Boston to the school bus shot that I am known for– and we met some awesome guys from New York who were also in for the game.  I hit it off right away with them , so that’s who I bought the school buses for!  They returned the favor with Jagerbombs.  We had a hysterical time joking and laughing (silly jokes, riddles, bar tricks) and one of them even threw up on my foot, but we were all having so much fun, it was like it never happened.  Hard to sum up in one paragraph the instant camaraderie you can build with complete strangers- and even though the next day we’re out of each other’s lives- being part of one of each other’s stories you’ll tell over and over again is pretty damn cool. Good times!

This trip was just what the three of us ladies needs.  It was part brewery.  Part sports.  Part history.  Part scenery.  All fun. Boston is seriously my new favorite city. And I found out yesterday– I am going again for work!  Internet Retailer convention on the 14th-18th.

New Blog Post from PaperGirlMemoir.com about My Reunion

(This blog appeared at www.papergirlmemoir.com first- re-posting here because it has more traffic.)

14 years.

That’s about half my life. And that’s how long it had been since I’ve seen Tony Talarico. I don’t want to get too emotional in a blog post or anything right now, but I feel I have to post something about what happened Sunday.

You could say I am somewhat obsessed with my childhood. It was the best part of my life and I wanted to hang on. My favorite movies are still the childhood adventure movies I watched as a kid. My favorite songs are still the songs of my youth. Other than my late 20s, and now 30th year, those early years were the best years of my life. It’s when my values and view of the world was formed… it’s that grounding that I think protected me from the not-so-great tween-teenage years. At any rate- that’s all in the memoir. So, during the writing of PAPERGIRL I no doubt began to terribly miss the people who were no longer in my life. Mostly- Tony– technically my adoptive father, but really, the father who raised me. I haven’t seen him in 14 years.

I was nervous to call him. Scared of that initial awkwardness. Years passed. Fast.

As I said above, during the writing of this memoir, I began to use the “new” social networking sites to look up the Talarico family and found some “long lost cousins” and some of Tony’s musician friends. He heard about this. Through exchanges with several of them, I was invited to a reunion music festival Tony was putting on in Jim Thorpe. I was a nervous wreck, but finally got up the nerve to go. And, looking back, I had no reason to be nervous. We’re people. We were only separated by geography, and then time. Too much time.

It was a tearful reunion- (when he saw me he said, “There’s my kid….”) but the tears lasted just a few minutes. Tony went off doing what he does best- organizing musical events (not only is he in entertainer– but was also a promoter/talent agent) and put on a hell of a show. It was just like old times- I became a kid again as he took the stage with the Holt Twins. I was a 30-year-old sitting on the grass, but I saw my ten-year-old self swaying up front by the stage. I helped load the van after the show, just like when I was a kid helping him and my mom tear down their equipment.

When the three of them played “Circle” by Harry Chapin- I got teary-eyed. It was like a circle– coming back to the songs of my youth. Then, when they played “Cats in the Cradle,” also by Harry Chapin, more tears came, because after all, it’s a song about a parent-child relationship strained by lost time. Harry Chapin died on my third birthday- right around the time Tony had met my mom- and I learned that despite our separation, Tony told that story every time he introduced a Harry Chapin song.

I realized that even though not physically there, I have still been an important part of his life the past 14 years. My picture was on a frame at the merchandise stand– one of me when I four-years-old. An image of me is used on the High on the Lehigh compilation CD that was sold at the event. A hand-drawn rendition of a photo of Tony and me whitewater rafting (when I was ten) was the artwork for the festival t-shirts. I’ve never left him. I realized over time how important he is to me, and the impact he had on my life while writing the memoir. I have played around with how to frame the memoir, and I think after Sunday’s reunion, I may have a new idea. But more importantly, he’s back in my life.

Tony’s brothers- my uncles- were there. My great aunt and uncle and second cousin were there. Dear old family friends were there– all for Tony’s special concert… but they were also there to witness our reunion.

There could not have been more perfect circumstances for our meeting. It was right. It was meant to be at this music festival, with these people.

I teared up a few times, but was pretty fine most of the day, reminiscing and laughing. My uncle Dave and aunt Kathy- each with three daughters- both brought up my imagination as a kid. Both talked about how the instant I showed up for visits at their respective houses, I’d want to write a movie. Dave was red with laughter as he remembered word-for-word some of the things I wrote as a kid. I looked down at my new “imagine” tattoo and knew I got the right word inked on my wrist, because after 14 years- that’s exactly how people remembered me. I was proud to still be that happy-go-lucky person they remembered. I was happy they were the same, too.

All day, people were coming up to me telling me that I made Tony’s day, and thanking me for coming back into his life. (He had a bout of illness that left him in a coma a few years ago– he almost died. I was unaware of that until Sunday…. He’s also legally blind now, and relies on his support network of friends/family to get him around– including promoting this concert that past six months.) To think that this reunion may not have happened hit me hard.

What choked me up the most was at the end of the day, a gentleman came up and said, “Hi Donna. You were so busy all day talking to people, but I am glad you are still here. You don’t know me, but I had to meet you. I’ve known your dad two years now and it means the world to him that you are here….” he went on from there, but to have complete strangers come up to me was such an amazing feeling. Tony has impacted the lives of lots of people over the years, and the dozens of family members and personal friends that were there, were there for him at his reunion show to give back. And now, I am too.

I should probably really sit down and write a nice piece about this reunion day, but I wanted to get something down quick, even if they are random scribblings on a blog. If you are my Facebook friend, the full album is there for your viewing pleasure.

Writing a memoir has been a life-changing event. If the story never sees the light of day, it doesn’t matter. It’s my life. I lived it. I’m still living it. And– I was able to in one day change the course of this life story.

Where will it go next?

(NOTE: I have a story about meeting my birth father as well– at age 21.  One day I will also tell that.  Finally, I write a lot about my mother in the memoir- I don’t want anyone to feel hurt or left out because of this incredibly happy blog post about one event– you all mean the world to me.)

Smells of Spring- Whiffing While I Walk

I started walking again last week.  Makes it sounds like I walked a lot aleady, eh?  In typical Donna style, I started on the Back Mountain Trail last Wednesday, but then had to get ready for Boston, then go to Boston for four days and recover one day from my amazing trip.  So today was Day #2.  I didn’t bring sneakers and there was a threat of rain, so I decided to just walk around the neighborhood.  I walked Oliver Street in Swoyersville to zig-zaggin all the streets up and down Lower Luzerne (yes, the non-hilly part).  I walked for about an hour, just getting lost in my Pandora Quick Mix– but what really got me was the multi-sensroy experience of walking.

In many of my craft classes in the creative writing program, or even in crtiquing each other’s works during writing retreats, we always bring up smell and how it seems to be the sense we forget about most when building setting or creating scenes.  Today, I as I walked up and down the streets of Luzerne on a perfect spring evening, I took in lots of smells and it’s amazing the memories that come along with smell.  The olfactory sense, they say, is most associated with memories.  Here are some things I whiffed while I walked:

• Fresh Mulch
• Honeysuckle
• Fabric Softner
• Dog poo
• Freshly cut grass
• Hamburgers on the grill
• Italian cooking from Perugino’s (a tiny little hidden treasure in Luzerne)
• Gas (probably from a lawnmower)
• Faint whiff of a port-o-potty
• Other flowers and trees

I think by far, my favorite smell of the season (aside from the grill) is honeysuckle.  At any rate, this is just one of those observation blog posts talking about a peaceful moment I had, just taking in the quiet, multi-sensory scenery.  I think we all need that break every now and then.

People I Want to See That are Not Scheduled for Anything on East Coast… or at all.

Before I delve into a blog on my fantastic Boston trip, I’ll get this quick one out of the way.  I am stoked to see Bob Dylan-John Mellencamp-Willie Nelson in Allentown on July 14th.  I never saw any of them, but Mellencamp has been one of my long-time faves.  I always liked him, but over the past several years, I really, really got into Dylan, and plus, he’s a total legend.  And Willie is just awesome, too.  But it got me thinking about who else I really want to see.

1. Blitzen Trapper. A friend suggested I check them out when I put out a call for new music suggestions to help me out of my comfortable classic rock bubble.  James was dead-on with it because I absolutley love them.  And, Blitzen Trapper has no tour dates scheduled this side of the Mississippi (when I spell that, I still say it out loud, just like I learned in second grade).  I did friend them on Facebook and follow them on Twitter.  So, I guess I will know the second they add dates, pending they keep up with social media.

2.  Augusten Burroughs. His official website’s event page is empty.  Therefore, I am sad.  I want Augusten to come closer again.  He is my favortie memoirst and has impacted me- I would have went with fiction for the MA and MFA if he wasn’t so inspiring and now that I am clearing on the end of the writing portion of the MFA at Wilkes University (the internship is next), I feel like seeing him again would just be a nice little way to keep the motivation and momentum going.

3.  Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers. They have no tour dates scheduled and after several decades of making music it’s a well-deserved deserves a break from touring.  But still.  I saw him when I was still with Mike, which means, it’s been forever.  My CDs, my iPod, my jukebox money and local cover band requests are holding me over, but not for long.  There is a new Tom Petty tribute band locally that I am seeing Saturday night, but yeah.  I’d love it if my favorite rock star would tour again soon.

Okay.  That’s it.  I want to see tons more people, but those three I’ve been thinking about for some time.

Towels and Hotel Rooms: An Ownership Dilemna & a Brainstorm

Just a quick observation.  I am staying in a great boutique hotel in Boston this weekend, Nine Zero.  It’s hip and has lots of amenities and I really overall love the feel of the place.  The thing about boutique hotels is that they are all pretty much unique from from one another, as opposed to a chain hotel.  So, I figure my hotel idea would suit a boutique hotel, but really could go for anything…

We are three girls who will probably take 3-4 showers each during our stay.  And, in trying to be green, we will save our towels for use the next day.  Which leads to this question:  Who’s towel is who’s?  They are all white.  Towels are always white at hotels, at least all of the ones I have snored at for 7-8 hours per night.

My Solution for the towel ownership dilemna?

The staff can provide three unique sets of towels, or a set per person, upon check-in.  So, my towels are pink, while Companion #1 has blue and Companion #2 has tan.  This is kind of like when you play minature golf, and each person is given a different color ball.  I think it could work, and could also be a lot of fun– and add some character to the bathrooms.  All towels can be coordinating shades, of course.  This would help eliminate confusion and also help people keep their towels longer without washing them– right now, if there is a mix-up, we can just throw them all in a pile and call housekeeping.

So, that’s my brainstorm as I relax before going out on the town!

Napping and Days Off and Twitter T-shirts

ZZZZ Feels Ahhhhh

I sleep everyday, as do most.  But sometimes I forget just how amazing sleep really is.  I took a power nap last night after I got home from work.  My mind was still racing from the day at work and I just couldn’t slow it down to focus on writing an article I am doing for a freelance project.  So, I thought a nap would take care of it.  Plus, I was a little physically tired as well because I hiked for the first time the day before.  I didn’t set my alarm– I just let myself sleep.  I woke up about a half hour later and felt great.  I just think the sometimes we take the human body and all its interworkings for granted.  It is truly amazing what sleep really does for us.  I laid there for a half hour and was brought back into focus, felt more alert mentally and a little better physically.  It just so cool to close your eyes, and let your mind do the seeing as it drifts into dreamland and while asleep, your cells replenishing… I just love the science behind sleep, but I will stop talking about it now before this blog post turns scientific.  But, at any rate, I had a wonderful nap yesterday and it just made me stop and think again about how truly our body’s cycle is.

Day off with Nothing to Do

I took Monday off to catch up on some school work and some writing I need done.  Sometimes, as stated above, I get home from work and it’s hard to immediately shift gears to my school and freelance stuff.  I also had some phone calls to make.  There’s not much you can achieve on a lunch break, so I figured I had the vacation day and may as well just take it.  Until yesterday, every day I took off this year so far has been because if illness, where I stayed in bed all day or for a trip out of town, where I was busy having fun.  Monday was different.  It took me back to the days where I was between jobs or working freelance (wait- that’s the same thing, ha), where my days were open.  It truly felt great to just not have anywhere to be at any given time.  I ran some errands and accomplished a lot on Monday.  While I had a lot to do, it felt great not to be tied to a schedule.

#TwitterTee and Threadless

Ever since I was a kid, I like puns and word play.  Hell, when I was three years old and moved to the Poconos from Montgomery County, I poked my nose the whole time, saying, “Poke a Nose” repeatedly.  So, at any rate, over the years I’ve contributed t-shirt ideas and greeting cards.  I had one greeting card picked up by Oatmeal Studios in 2000, which was something I was really proud of.  My new obsession is with Threadless.com which is a user-generated e-commerce site- it’s one of the coolest concepts around.  Users create artwork and/or slogans for Threadless.com, and its three other t-shirt companies, my favorite being TypeTees.com.    The community votes, while the staff also sifts through slogans and graphic designs for new shirts.  TypeTees launches two new shirts each week.  I have about seven shirts from TypeTees.com and have submitted a few dozen ideas the past few months.

This week, Threadless announced a new brand: Twitter t-shirts.  I have one on order and I have submitted a few Twitter slogans.  I came up with an idea I really like, so check it out here and vote for it if you like it, too!

Okay- that’s all I have for now.