30 Minus 2 Days Of Writing

It’s amazing how many lies are out there.

Whether it be politicians or sports figures (come on, we all know A-Rod is clean …) or whatever else, it’s hard to think we don’t breed a society of liars.

Salesmen. Media. Liars are all around us.

It seems lying has almost become a major part of our society, even if it’s just little white lies and not “real” or “hurtful lies. Telling a tale is telling a tale, no matter how you look at it.

What really stinks is when I was young, I was taught lying is bad. It’s hard to teach that to kids anymore, when everybody around them lies.

Like here’s one – resume.

When I was out of work for that extended amount of time (now known as s P.J.’s Great Lockout 11-13), I was told many things to do to my resume to make it seem more interesting.

Seriously.

Here are a few to consider –

• Take the Master’s degree off my resume as it makes me look over qualified.
• “Embellish” my job duties to make it look like I did more (which is hard, because I already did a lot at past jobs)
• Don’t put all work history.

I went the opposite way.

I put all relevant work experience. I put all my degrees (that’s like saying you can lose a job for having too much education …) because I am proud of them and worked my ass for them. Why hide from them?

My resume is a virtual fact sheet about me. I didn’t lie because I didn’t need to do so.

But I have seen some doozy resumes where people, right out of school, make it sound like they are top-line executives in line for some six-figure job.

Heck, maybe that’s why it took me so long to get a job. Maybe I was too honest. But I don’t see how lying can be a good thing when getting a job. If you lie and BS about what you can do, eventually you will be found out. Maybe that job keeps you or maybe they fire you because you’re a little liar.

Or maybe it works for you and you get away with it. If you do go that route, then I wish you well. I personally can’t do it because I don’t believe in it. But to each their own.

Society is different and it continues to change, especially as parts of life get more and more competitive.

I am just glad I can look in the mirror each day and know the reflection doesn’t scream out “liar!”

This is part of We Work for Cheese’s annual writing challenge. Despite what might be blamed, I had nothing to do with it. Go check them out for other crazy writers doing this challenge. 

T-SHIRT ALERT: Nicky has allowed me to create the official shirt for this year’s challenge. I did it via TeeSpring to keep it lower cost. They do all the work. However, it’s like Kickstarter. We have to meet a certain number of sales for this to happen. So, we need 10 shirts to sell. You can get a short-sleeved tee shirt ($13) or long-sleeve ($15). So go buy one. Or two. Or three. Buy! Buy! Buy! Go visit and buy at this link: Challenge shirts. Be the cool kid on the block with this one. 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

I don’t fake many things in life.

Sure, I may have had quite the imagination growing up, but I try on the straight and narrow as an adult. So faking things can, sometimes, be a bit hard.

But then there was college…

I would hope Nicky would enjoy this one, being a French Canadian and all…

When I went back to school as a non-traditional student, it was to get myself better positioned for life. One thing stuck out to me, though — I needed to take four semesters of a foreign language. FOUR SEMESTERS.

Now, realize this — in high school, I never had to and never did take a language. I’ve always fancied myself on English as I was becoming a writer. Why did I need a language other than the one I will write?

Apparently for colleges.

So I had to make this decision. And it wasn’t just taking. I had to pass these classes. That wasn’t going to prove to be easy. I thought long and hard about it and ended up choosing French because several of us made yearly trips to Montreal. I figured it would be good to know how to order some beer, food and ask where the head was.

I never thought to find out to be tested to see if I could get out of the requirement. I just went with it.

Four semesters.

That meant not just basic French, rather levels 1-4.

For three of those semesters, I had the same teacher. She was wonderful. She helped. She cheered me on. She was from Belgium and really simplified things.

There are some people who just aren’t good at learning languages.

I’m one of them.

I struggled for all four semesters. But I found ways of getting through it. I picked up enough to skate by. But every semester, there was a test at the end where we had to speak, usually in groups of three or four.

How did I get through it? I faked it.

It’s amazing how well you can do if you have repetition. Even if I had no clue what I was saying. I had the same group almost every semester. We’ practice. I’d know where to speak. What to say. And if it went off a little, I’d fake it. I’d try and say something funny. Or act like I had a clue.

I know she knew what was going on. But it’s all good. When needed, I faked like a champ. And it worked out in the end.

This is part of We Work for Cheese’s annual writing challenge. Despite what might be blamed, I had nothing to do with it. Go check them out for other crazy writers doing this challenge. 

T-SHIRT ALERT: Nicky has allowed me to create the official shirt for this year’s challenge. I did it via TeeSpring to keep it lower cost. They do all the work. However, it’s like Kickstarter. We have to meet a certain number of sales for this to happen. So, we need 10 shirts to sell. You can get a short-sleeved tee shirt ($13) or long-sleeve ($15). So go buy one. Or two. Or three. Buy! Buy! Buy! Go visit and buy at this link: Challenge shirts. Be the cool kid on the block with this one. 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

There are times when I scratch my head with this challenge.

I realize the idea is people throw out ideas and then Nicky, as the dictator of this challenge, picks themes and sets them up. But sheesh. Sometimes I wonder if she just grabs a bottle of vodka, throws some crazy themes on the floor and plays spin the bottle.

Such as this one.

Let me say this — I have never enjoyed reading Shakespeare. And it’s a Sunday, so fewer people around I bet. So, here’s my post.

And it won’t contain any Shakespearean English. None.

What it does so is gives me a chance, my dear friends and participants of this challenge, to let you know about the official t-shirt of the challenge.

Why wouldn’t you want a sweet tee to remember this wonderful challenge? You know you want one. And they are highly affordable.

Here’s the deal:

The shirts are being made through TeeSpring, which is basically a t-shirt Kickstarter. So the shirt is designed and out there. However, for the shirts to be made, we need to sell at least 10. With upward of 20 or so people participating in this, we should be able to pull that off.

I hope so anyway. Because if we don’t get enough, the shirts won’t be made and that would be sad.

Prices are pretty solid. There’s a basic t-shirt (sizes up to 3XL) for $13, and a long-sleeve t-shirt (sizes up to 3XL) for $15. Shipping is not included in this price, but you can find all that information on the website.

As of me writing this post on Feb. 16, we’ve sold six shirts. So we need four more.

And there’s no need to wait — order now. You won’t be charged until the end of the campaign (March 5) and only if we reach the goal, which hopefully we will.

You can see the campaign by clicking here.

What you’ll get is a sweet shirt to remember this wonderful challenge with. Or, something to remind you of the nightmare. What you won’t get is Shakespearean English. None of it. Guaranteed.

This is part of We Work for Cheese’s annual writing challenge. Despite what might be blamed, I had nothing to do with it. Go check them out for other crazy writers doing this challenge. 

T-SHIRT ALERT: Nicky has allowed me to create the official shirt for this year’s challenge. I did it via TeeSpring to keep it lower cost. They do all the work. However, it’s like Kickstarter. We have to meet a certain number of sales for this to happen. So, we need 10 shirts to sell. You can get a short-sleeved tee shirt ($13) or long-sleeve ($15). So go buy one. Or two. Or three. Buy! Buy! Buy! Go visit and buy at this link: Challenge shirts. Be the cool kid on the block with this one. 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

It’s rather frightening when you wake up with your head in somebody’s lap and they are telling you just to be calm and help is on its way.

If that was current day, I probably wouldn’t have been in somebody’s lap. It’s more of a safety thing. As it was, I was in this lady’s lap and she was holding my head so I wouldn’t move, trying to be reassuring that everything was fine.

I heard somebody say “there’s the ambulance,” but I somehow didn’t freak out, which is impressive as I was in my early teens. I was groggy, though, and my ears were ringing something awful.

I probably should backtrack here, though, to explain what happened.

In my hometown, there used to be a skating rink at this one park. They’d fill it every year and, weather permitting, we’d be out skating. The ice could get choppy though, so you had to watch yourself. Still, we played hockey, skated around and had a good time.

This park is owned by the local Legion, but utilized by the village. I think, even, the part where the skating rink is, is actually owned by the village. I think. Either way, the fields are wide open. In good-weather months, there are several softball fields, a baseball field and the fields are so wide open, it’s often occupied by soccer.

I even use the area to throw discs.

With it being so wide open, it is also a place where people riding snowmobiles love to zip across the fields. There are signs around the skating rink that showed no snowmobiles were allowed, so when they came ripping around, the one person in charge asked me to skate over and point to the signs as they went screaming by.

Sure thing.

I went out the door of the skate house and across the ice.

The next thing I knew, my ears are ringing and I’m in somebody’s lap. Turns out I was flying across the ice, hit a bad patch of ice and my feet went out from under me and … smack … head on the ice.

Out. Like. A. Light.

The ambulance came and swept me away and I was diagnosed with a concussion. I’m pretty sure it’s the only concussion I’ve had in my life. Not fun. What a crazy day though.

So if you are out skating, watch for bad ice. Ouch. Maybe your ears won’t be ringing then.

This is part of We Work for Cheese’s annual writing challenge. Despite what might be blamed, I had nothing to do with it. Go check them out for other crazy writers doing this challenge. 

T-SHIRT ALERT: Nicky has allowed me to create the official shirt for this year’s challenge. I did it via TeeSpring to keep it lower cost. They do all the work. However, it’s like Kickstarter. We have to meet a certain number of sales for this to happen. So, we need 10 shirts to sell. You can get a short-sleeved tee shirt ($13) or long-sleeve ($15). So go buy one. Or two. Or three. Buy! Buy! Buy! Go visit and buy at this link: Challenge shirts. Be the cool kid on the block with this one. 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

I absolutely have nothing for this one.

Worse than that, it’s a Friday. So it would be nice to have a good post.

Instead, I’m scratching my head with this challenge at this point. Nothing. Zero. Nada. Zilch.

Sheesh.

The past few days, I’ve tried to catch up with reading all the other submissions for this challenge. I’m through four or five days. I need to catch up so I might be able to actually do what I should — read the posts on the day they come out. Ya know, to keep up and all.

I have done well with that the past two challenges. Not this time.

It has to be aliens. 

In fact, I’ve been completely awful with keeping up with comments at all. I am trying to catch up and respond on the blog to comments. It’s going to take time, but I’ll get to it. That also means visiting other people’s blogs etc. I’m getting there. Life has been really busy — with work, the foot issues and everything else. Not an excuse, just reality. Something has to give and find a way to give me time and stamina to do it.

It has to be aliens. 

You know what I love about blogging?

Freestyling.

It’s kind of a way for me just to write. The odds are the post won’t make sense. It might be something off the top of my head, such as wondering why I can’t find a green dress shirt in my neck size.

Seriously.

It’s not like you care, but I feel like I want to put it out there. Same with an orange shirt.

I did get two ties, however, for $10.50 apiece the other day. Sweet deal.

It has to be aliens. 

Am I the only one who is getting sick of seeing “TBT” everywhere on social media. Seriously, who picked Thursday to be a throwback day? What if people want to do it Friday? It is TBF? What if they want to only do it in August? TBA? Or December? TBD?

All of a sudden it’s this wave of things. I love doing a throwback type of photo on the blog each week, but it’s not like I have to follow the world.

It has to be aliens.

Is anyone else sick of this winter? I am. This is, by far, one of the coldest winters I ever remember. It’s bone-chilling cold. And with the snow we’ve had, it makes it hard to do anything.

Add in the foot issue and it makes it really hard.

But really — enough. I am so sick of this winter. I have to let my car warm up for like 30 minutes each day, just so I don’t freeze on the way to work.

After all, it’s one thing to be cold — it’s another to be frigid, which is what much of this winter has been.

And no, this doesn’t have to be aliens. This weather can be summed up in one way and one way only.

Mother Nature is a bitch.

This is part of We Work for Cheese’s annual writing challenge. Despite what might be blamed, I had nothing to do with it. Go check them out for other crazy writers doing this challenge. 

T-SHIRT ALERT: Nicky has allowed me to create the official shirt for this year’s challenge. I did it via TeeSpring to keep it lower cost. They do all the work. However, it’s like Kickstarter. We have to meet a certain number of sales for this to happen. So, we need 10 shirts to sell. You can get a short-sleeved tee shirt ($13) or long-sleeve ($15). So go buy one. Or two. Or three. Buy! Buy! Buy! Go visit and buy at this link: Challenge shirts. Be the cool kid on the block with this one. 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!