One

I love the Internet... sort of. I can find anything I want to support or disprove any discussion among co-workers. I can find today's news, weather, traffic via web-cam, not to mention what movies are playing. One of my all-time favorite sites is SparkPeople. I created a page about a year ago in preparation for my wedding - I wanted to drop some L-B's, as is typical with many over 30 brides.

I just entered my caloric intake and athletic output for the day, then noticed that my friend Alene (a real flesh-and-blood friend, not just in the virtual world) sent me a "Goodie"! It was a picture of a Fruit Smoothie - and it looks very tasty! A graphic of the smoothie appears at the bottom of my SparkPeople page. Alene purchased it with points that she earned on SparkPeople - by logging in, reading articles, and accomplishing her goals on the website. I wanted to return the favor, so I spent a few more minutes "shopping" for a Goodie to send to Alene, I settled on a cup of Green Tea because we are both in the weight loss mode, but now that I think about it - I'm not sure she drinks green tea because of the caffeine! But back to my online session in SparkPeople - on Alene's page I noticed another friend's link - so I visited Sue's page and sent some virtual flowers to say CONGRATULATIONS on her impressive weight loss. I also posted a note, and then logged into Blogger. So a mere 45 minutes into my personal time online, I've spent 75 imaginary points on imaginary goodies to gift to real friends. And I feel only vaguely confused about how poorly I'm managing my time.

I am postponing an important task today, but at the same time I'm preparing for it - is this possible in the real world? I would like to write a book, to confirm that I can do it, and to get my writing juices flowing. I've wanted to be a writer since I was in junior high, but after college, the only writing I did was in a journal - and that was sporadic. I stumbled across a book at B&N the other night - How to Write a Book in a Month. I assumed it was going to be a waste of money (yes, really, but I spent cold hard birthday gift card on it because it wasn't CASH, and I might get lucky).

Turns out, I did get lucky. The book is really a workbook method designed to motivate you to write a book in 30 days. I have read the preface and have seen that I do have some inner demons at work - saying 'sure you want to write - but what if you suck, royally bad, I mean, big-time?' The book is great at suggesting ways to overcome your inner critic (demon, same diff, really). So I am working out my writing muscle by posting in the blog. But I don't want to put it off indefinitely - I want to start the process, put in the time, log the pages, and get it done. More on that to follow...