A 'lil HooHaa

Messing with the blogging world since 2005

20 days challenge

20 Days of Chill returns!

I’m not sure how well this will go over, but we’ll give it a try. 

The 20 Days of Chill was a writing challenge I ran for a few years. It ran each January and it was always fun. Alas, with Covid and other things, it kind of faded to the back. 

The last time we had the challenge was January 2020. Of course that was right before Covid. But, that didn’t seem to matter anyway as we only had a few participants. 

Last January, I just didn’t feel like it was worth it. 

And hell, let’s be honest, this year might not be worth it, either. But I’m going to try. 

I’m also going to do things a bit differently. On this day, I’m announcing the challenge is back. In a couple of weeks, I will have a post that will outline the whole challenge and all themes. That will give anybody interested time to write, schedule and whatever else they might want to do with it. 

***

Here’s how it runs. 

For 20 days in January (M-F), there will be a theme. You take said theme and come up with your post. Use your creativity and imagination, It could be true or fiction, or something else entirely. But the post should somehow, even loosely, connect to the theme. 

Post said piece on the day of the challenge and then come back here to link up. 

Then rinse and repeat for the other days. 

My goal is to have the post scheduled for sometime between 8-9 a.m. EST each day. If all goes well, I’ll hopefully have things written up way ahead of time. That’s my hope, anyway. It’s also my hope that by releasing the themes well ahead of time, maybe those interested in taking part will have the opportunity to plan as well. 

This always used to be a fun challenge, so I’m hoping it can be that way again. 

***

Choose the ones you want to take part in. 

Nobody says you have to do them all. While I kind of have to because of the linkups, you don’t have to do the same. Now, I’d love to see several people do the whole thing, but I realize maybe you won’t want to. The themes I came up with for this year are rather broad, so it should make it easier for people to find a way to utilize said theme. 

If you are going to take part in this, remember to have fun. 

***

Look for the themes to be posted soon. I have them all set, but I’m waffling on a few. I’ll have a post written and posted within the next couple of weeks, so keep an eye out for it!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

20 Days of Chill: Oh, thank goodness (Day 20)

I’d been worried when it came to the 20 Days of Chill. 

First that I’d be the only one taking part. 

Second that I’d miss deadlines, which … for a challenge like this wouldn’t be good. 

And third that it would cement my feelings on blogging on a regular basis again. 

And thank goodness, it did the opposite. 

We had a couple of people be part of the challenge pretty much every day. Everything was posted as it needed to be. And it gave me a newfound look on blogging again. 

Score!

This challenge – much like others I host or have hosted – is up and down. Some years have been better than others, but when you aren’t blogging steadily, it can hurt. 

Still, the fun was there and I enjoyed reading other people’s posts throughout. It also gave me the urge to want to seek out more and kind of get the feel for blogging again. 

I think I have found it again, but we will see. 

At nights, I’ve started working on a few different things. The goal is to ground me a little more, to help with stress, and to get me writing more on my own time. While I write and do many other things at work, being able to do some personal writing it always key. It helps my mind wander and it relaxes me. 

So, I chip away. 

There have been times over the past few years where I dreaded going near a keyboard to blog or write my own stuff. 

And through it all, I still blame it on 2016. That was the year I blogged every day. 

Every. 

Single. 

Day. 

It didn’t matter if I had something to say or not. I blogged every day. I didn’t have a plan or anything for the most part. And that was the biggest problem. Sometimes I forced things and it became tedious and boring. I grew to hate blogging. 

Content suffered over the following years. I did a few challenges, but sticking to timelines wasn’t always easy. During the recent nights of blog work, I’ve set myself up on my Google calendar a bit more and I’ve started planning things out. 

Now I can see what my thought process is. 

This challenge was an important one for me, mainly to prove I could get back into a groove and know I can get things published when they should be done. 

That being said …

Thank goodness this challenge has ended and in successful way. Now on with the next one and many other posts!

This post is part of the 2020 20 Days of Chill Writing Challenge hosted by A ‘lil HooHaa. Please check out the link if you’d like to see others or join in. You don’t have to do every theme if you don’t want! And for those participating, take a moment and check out the other participants! 

20 Days of Chill: 2020 Day 20

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

20 Days of Chill: Bring me to you (Day 19)

When I first went through all these themes, I had something in mind for this one. 

That’s more than a month ago, though, so … I no longer have any idea. 

Note to self: Keep that notebook with me so I can jot ideas down (I am getting better with this). 

In the end, that also means I need to punt and regroup and figure something out. And what better way than to do a blog post about blogging. 

Well, kind of. 

As I get my rhythm back into more regular blogging, I also realize how things have changed over the past couple of years when my sporadic posting kind of was more about making sure we keep a challenge going rather than connecting with others – which I always loved about blogging. 

I peeked around and looked at some old favorites and it seems they have slowed or have fully stopped blogging. Others have changed domains/themes and new people have emerged. 

One thing that has always been true with blogging – people come and go. There are different reasons for blogging and if the end result isn’t what the person wants, blogs end. 

Some want to make money. Some want comments and page views. Others just want a place to do their own thing. I’m a bit of a mix as I like to see some comments and views, but it’s also a place for me to have my personal space to write about whatever I want. 

It’s why I’ve never honed in on one specific topic to be the theme here. I write about too many different things and I like it that way. 

Truly. 

But the one thing I always loved and I have been trying to get back into even more is visiting other people’s blog. Though I was lax with it for a while with the Photo Blogging Challenge, I’m doing my best to visit, read, and comment on the majority of posts with people in this and other challenges I host. That’s because when we do a challenge, part of it is the community. And in some of the bigger ones (and even smaller) I’ve hosted, there are some people who will come, link up and leave without commenting here. And then they go to the others and comment. 

You could say that kind of made me get a little lax on my own end. 

Hosting challenges is fun, but I also do the work. So it’s fun to hear back from everybody, just as well as the others. It also stinks when somebody posts later than somebody else and not everybody goes to their posts. That had made me think about turning the challenges into a blog hop more than a linkup, because that way everybody’s link would be at the end of all posts. That might help each of the challenges to grow. 

But I digress. Let’s get back to the theme. 

Bring me to you. 

Part of getting back into the blogging world on a more regular basis is hitting new blogs and seeing what is out there. I like to learn about the blogger/writer and I like when they have ways for me to see their personality and style. I like when they bring me to them and make me want to come back for more. 

I miss the days of “readers” where you’d subscribe and have a ton of places to see new posts listed. I’m now trying to keep a list of blogs I like and would enjoy reading on a semi-regular basis. 

So keep doing what you are doing and bring me to you!

This post is part of the 2020 20 Days of Chill Writing Challenge hosted by A ‘lil HooHaa. Please check out the link if you’d like to see others or join in. You don’t have to do every theme if you don’t want! And for those participating, take a moment and check out the other participants! 

20 Days of Chill: 2020 Day 19

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

20 Days of Chill: A cocktail, if you will (Day 18)

I’m going to go back in time with this post. 

Some memories, they say, kind of stick out more than others over life. 

In 2011, I went on my only cruise. It was first to be a photographer for a wedding, but I also had the benefit of getting to be on the cruise and enjoy so many things. 

When we got to Nassau in the Bahamas, one of the things I planned to do on my own (outside of doing a little geocaching) was to visit the John Watlings Distillery and experience the rums.

After taking the self-guided tour, I went to the “bar” area where they had some people tending and offering up drinks. Being I was by myself, I chatted up with those working and learned a lot more about the rums. 

As a fan of rum, this was fascinating. 

Then as I looked over the cocktails offered, the one gentleman said I had to have a “Rum Dum.” 

Sure, I said, why not?

The Rum Dum takes two types of rums from the distillery, and puts them into a tremendous drink. So, two rums, mixed in with an egg white, some lemon juice, and simple syrup. 

That’s it. 

It was one of the most amazing cocktails I’ve ever had. 

Shortly thereafter, another tourist couple came in and were just that – tourists. They were a bit loud and didn’t really want to learn anything. They just came in and ordered some Bahama Mamas (I’m pretty sure that was the drink) and went off to a corner. With leftover of that, the one bartender brought it out and set it in front of me with a smile and noted leftover gets poured out anyway. 

It helps to make friends!

When leaving, I bought one type of rum back with me. I’m still hoping I can one day get the other type of rum and be able to recreate the Rum Dum myself, though I’m quite sure it won’t be anywhere as good as the original! 

How about all of you? Favorite cocktail? Any great memories surrounding cocktails?

This post is part of the 2020 20 Days of Chill Writing Challenge hosted by A ‘lil HooHaa. Please check out the link if you’d like to see others or join in. You don’t have to do every theme if you don’t want! And for those participating, take a moment and check out the other participants! 

20 Days of Chill: 2020 Day 18

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!

20 Days of Chill: May I take your order (Day 17)

Many friends of mine growing up had jobs within the “food industry.” It might have been working at a pizza place, or a fast food joint, or something else. But many worked with food. 

My lone attempt was when I was maybe 15 or 16. I was looking for something and I thought, hey … why not work at the local ice cream place? 

I mean, ice cream. 

Up until then, I had done different jobs in the summers. I delivered newspapers. I worked as an umpire for the local little league. Things like that. 

It’s not like I was going to get rich doing any of it, but why not see if I could get a few extra hours?

And I knew people at the ice cream place. 

Didn’t matter. 

I put in an application and was all pumped. It always seemed fun when we went in, so it had to be to work there, too, right? 

I applied and waited. 

And waited. 

And waited. 

A few weeks went by and I hadn’t heard a thing. So I went looking for the owner. Finally finding one of them, I asked. 

Turns out they didn’t think I would have been a good addition to the team, so I didn’t even get an interview. And, in reality, they didn’t have any openings anyway (so they said). 

Talk about a punch to the gut. 

Nobody would give me a reason why I wouldn’t have been a good member of the team. I mean, I would have been a hard worker. And I would have been on time and did the time needed. Maybe I wouldn’t have been good at the ice cream machine. Maybe there’s some other valid reason. 

Or maybe not. 

The one thing I always thought, though, was be honest about things. When teenagers are applying for a job … if there’s a reason you don’t want to hire – or even give an interview to – let them know why. There’s no chance to improve if they don’t know. Maybe my application was a train wreck. I have no idea. 

Over time, people stopped going there anyway. Other ice cream places opened up and had better prices and more of a selection and a friendlier persona. 

A few years later, the business was on its last legs. I went to the window and looked at the menu. One of the owners was taking the orders and gave me the normal “May I help you” or “May I take your order?” 

My response? 

Nah. Not really anything here that would be good on my team. 

And I walked away. 

The odds are the owner didn’t even remember that I was turned down for even an interview. But that day, while I was still in my late teens, I felt a little better.  

I never did work in any sort of food industry spot. And hopefully I never have to as I’m not sure I’d be any good at it anyway. 

How about all of you? Did you work in the food industry?

This post is part of the 2020 20 Days of Chill Writing Challenge hosted by A ‘lil HooHaa. Please check out the link if you’d like to see others or join in. You don’t have to do every theme if you don’t want! And for those participating, take a moment and check out the other participants! 

20 Days of Chill: 2020 Day 17

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” A ‘lil HooHaa on Facebook! You can also follow me on Twitter @softball29!