29 January 2019

A Yearly Challenge

“The weather outside is frightful.” It’s many degrees below zero with an even colder wind chill.  The sun is shining, with clouds beginning their dance down from the north.  The snow dances ever so often in the wind.  My mother used to say what they were and I don’t remember.  Perhaps a part of me does.  I wish, nah, not wish, cause I hear that voice in my head telling me “be careful what you wish for.”  Well, it’s not too late to write down what I remember. Perhaps some day, some descendant will wish to read these words.  There’s always one or two in a generation who thinks of the old days.

At any rate, I printed out a list of 365 writing prompts from a website yesterday whilst waiting for lunch down to the RTG. I pressed the print button after I’d taken out all the ads and what not.  It didn’t print, so I asked Sis how the thing printed.  She said “Hit the print button.”
“Which one? Is there a special way to do this?”  I was only wanting to know cause it, computer and printer, are on a private network and I didn’t know if the admins had set up a special procedure or…t’any rate, I brought the screen back up.
“That’s it.”
I hit the print button.  Nothing happened.
“Brother!  Is this printer working?”
He came over.  Pushed a command on the printer and said “Door’s ajar.”

Whereupon I remembered I’d put the paper in cause he handed me some just prior.  Naturally, I didn’t make sure I heard the click.  He shut it and the printer promptly spit out two copies.  I was ever so glad I’d reduced the number of pages down from 64 to 8.
“Now what am I gonna do with two copies?”
“One for editing and one for reading?”  Sometimes, brother doesn’t understand a thing I mean.  Perhaps that’s cause I was being rhetorical and he didn’t know that?  Well, I don’t think I’ll ever break myself of the talking aloud to myself habit.

During lunch, I conversed with sister about this and that.  Just as we were finishing, an Elder came in to collect his lunch.  On his way out, I called him over and set him a challenge.  I gave him a copy of the prompts and told him that in 365 days we’d see who wrote the most during the past 365 days.
“I’ll do it.”  After a few minutes thought, “I’ll probably do this for three days and then forget.”
So, I came home and didn’t do any writing on the prompts, though I did do some work on my lesson assignments.  Not enough to post it though.

This morning I reset this daily journal from the backup, set up the note cards and scene cards for the rest of the year.  I put a blank one in for next year so that all I have to do is copy over for year after year.  I see from the last date, it was four years ago since I wrote in this particular one.  Now, none of this has anything at all to do with what the outside weather is doing right now.  It is, as I’d hoped, something to spark the ol’ writing something.  Perhaps, I’ll look at this a year from now and just use the same prompt?  Perhaps not.

T’any rate, it’s time to venture out in the cold and see if I can hitch a ride down to lunch.