Gr8ful4: Mom is home and on the mend

Tags

art, buddhism, healing, mom

congestive heart failure… not much fun

First off, a shout out to all my peeps for your kind words, thoughts and prayers for my mom and me. She is out of the hospital and on the mend. But she is still very weak. I’ve made the calls, so now is the time for friends and family on the mainland to travel here to visit with her.

Her hospital stay went well, she had a very sweet room mate, an older Japanese lady. When her curtain was pulled back, and I happened to look in, she always waved at me. I found out her name was Margaret. She seemed to be doing alright. But when I went to visit my mother on Thursday, I found out that Margaret had died early that morning. When I got there, at noon, Margaret’s body was still in her bed and her family was gathered around. There was a Buddhist priest conducting a ceremony for her.

I sat next to my mom and held her hand, we listened to the ceremony from our side of the curtain. It was very moving, the priest talked about how the Buddhists believe that Margaret’s soul was still in the room, that the family members should feel comfortable speaking in front of her. That she was on her way to a happier place. He chanted words in Japanese and struck a bell several times. It was very moving, and very peaceful.

Of course the nurses were worried, one of them came in and asked, “are you guys okay with all of this going on?” And we were fine. In fact at one point both of my parents had studied Buddhism for a time, so it was very appropriate. My mother and I were lucky enough to have been together with my father when he died, so she has a very realistic sense of what is going on. She’s told me that she isn’t ready to “go just yet.”  So, we will do all we can to make her happy and comfortable as possible.

That’s about all from here. I’m hoping to be back on track with Writing Matters soon. I will keep you posted on mom’s recovery. And again, it has been so heartwarming to hear from all of you. You guys are the best!

 

 

Friday Fun: Recycling Flipflops & Cast Reunions

Tags

art, fun, recycling, recycling company, sillyness, sir ian mckellan, walk down memory lane

Aloha all, at last Friday is here again, and to get your weekend started, I came across this story from Voice of America. It’s about the Flipflop Recycling Company in Nairobi. They collect old flipflops, or as they are called here in Hawaii, slippahs, and turn them into art. Check out the video.

Here’s a fun walk down memory lane. Entertainment Magazine recently shot a series of Cast Reunions from “ET,” “Breaking Away,” “Melrose Place,” And “National Lampoon’s Vacation.”

And the best for last, who knew that the wonderful actor Sir Ian McKellan was a big Sir Mixalot fan? Here is is interpretation of “Baby Got Back.”

Have a great weekend everybody.

Writing Matters: We Are Not Alone: WANA’s Rock!

Tags

art, Love, support, WANA, writers

Happy Birthday to all my WANA1011 Classmates

 

In the summer of 2011 I was lucky enough to attend Thrillerfest in New York City. One of the most interesting sessions was conducted by Bob Mayer, a best-selling author of many of the best “boy” books around: military thrillers. The focus of his presentation was lessons he learned in special forces, and how he uses them in his writing career. Now, I’m not big into huge institutions like the military, but I am all about learning a more disciplined approach to my writing career. When I got back home I bought his book, “Write it Forward.”

While I was on the page, I also noticed another title, “We Are Not Alone: The Writer’s Guide to Social Media.” Written by Kristen Lamb. At this point, I had set up a Facebook page, but had no clue how to use it. At the conference the buzz words “branding” and “platform building” buzzed around my brain. I bought the book and also noticed that the author was teaching a class called, “Blogging to Build Your Brand.” I was like so many people, thinking that blogs were so 2005. But as I read the course description, I was intrigued and decided to sign up.

The rest as they say, is history. There were about 100 of us who signed up for that class. And the first thing Kristen had us do was all open Twitter accounts, download the Tweetdeck and all say “hello” to each other by using a hashtag: WANA1011. None of us at the time realized that what Kristen had created was nothing short of a social media miracle. We all got to know each other, first on Twitter, and through our class emails. It was a blast, especially for me, as I’m out here in the middle of the Pacific ocean, it’s so easy to feel “left out” of the conversations going on about publishing, etc. that are taking place on the mainland.

But this cured everything. Before you know it, I started this humble little blog, and from the start, I had traffic: all my WANA1011 pals. Since then we’ve been there for each other through rejections, through self-publication trials and triumphs. I couldn’t have finished my current novel without the love and support from this very special group of writers. We are the new paradigm. As a writer, you can no longer just bang away on your book, alone, in the dark, and expect to find success. You need a team. You need moral support. You need people willing to share their experience, their knowledge of the publishing industry, and you need people who “get it” Who understand how strange and awful the whole idea of being a “writer” really is.

Today is our WANA1011 First birthday. We are all posting this commemorative graphic, to celebrate our one year of fun, support, and love. Please take a look at all these names, we are from all over the country and the world. Proving that “social media” is not just fun and games. Our relationships are real, deep, and true. Thank you so much to all my WANA peeps. You have enriched my life in so many ways. Here’s to another year of WANA love!