Ritual: Any practice or pattern of behavior regularly performed in a set manner.
Rituals.
We all have them, whether we know it or not.
Some are complex.
Some are simple.
Rituals are part of who we are. Part of what makes us comfortable in our own skin.
My morning rituals are probably very similar to others. My day starts by hitting the snooze button, oh, about 4 or 5 times in my attempt to wake up early to write. Eventually I stumble out of bed, hit the bathroom, start the coffee and open my laptop. It's almost always on snooze so I don't have to wait for it to boot up. I check my 4 email addresses--yes there is a reason I have so many--then grab my first mug of coffee. By this time I'm supposed to be writing but now "Comedy" is up and interrupting me with his morning ritual...a barrage of questions. Come to think of it, that's his ritual for the entire day. My typical response..."Dude, you already asked that and I already answered it." He laughs and asks again anyway.
But back to me. Okay where was I? Oh yeah, sipping my second cup of coffee and thinking about writing as I peruse Facebook and my list of preferred blogs. I'd like to leave comments on all of them but I have to be selective because I'm on a time crunch. Speaking of which, look at the time. I've got to get in the shower and get ready for work.
Great.
Another morning and I didn't get any writing done. But that's okay because I actually do my best work in the evenings after the children have gone to bed. Honestly! And I write quite a bit on the weekends. This weekend in particular rocked--writing wise. Weather wise it stunk but that's another post entirely.
Every Monday morning you can find me at Caribou Coffee writing from 8:30-11:00. I love having Monday's off. One of my favorite days of the week!
Every night after work on my way home I call Bren. Bad habit, talking on my cell and driving. I know this but I always call her. If I don't, it's really weird.
Almost every Wednesday, before work, I call my sister, Brandy. We catch up for about 10 minutes.
When I need help with my WIP in regards to something fantasy or myth related, I always call BJ or shoot her an email. She's a genius in that genre.
When I need writing advice, I always contact Beth and then we end up swapping about 10 emails a night. Sometimes we stay on topic but more often than not we get 'distracted'.
These are just a few of my rituals. The list is almost endless and I'm supposed to be working on my book so I better get back to it. Thanks for letting me ramble and now it's your turn.
What's your daily ritual? Please share!
SIS Barb writing as Elle J Rossi
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14 comments:
Rituals, lol! I don't hit the snooze button. I usually get up, hit the bathroom, start coffee and take dog number one out. Love on the new kittens we have, and come back in and wake up the kid so he can get a shower and primp. Yah, teen boys do primp. Head to the kitchen to get my first cup of coffee--sheer heaven--the coffee. Remind kid not to create a fog in the bathroom with his body spray and pick up the towels and clothes OFF the floor. I have a hamper two feet from where his dirty clothes lie.
Head to the computer, check my blog, and then have to tell kid, PLEASE turn down the the Rock Music so I can hear. Read my mail while talking to kid. He's gone by 7:15. I go in and turn off the rock music or his amp. Take out huge dog #2, feed both dogs. Check the rest of my mail and deal with it. Read my preferred blogs. I do get in writing time later in the afternoon, evenings, and some weekends--depends upon what's going on.
I call my sis Carolie or she calls me pretty much daily. Couple days a week we meet for morning coffee. Throughout the week I keep tabs on the rest of my litter of siblings.
Since I'm on disability (TMI?) I don't usually have to worry about getting up at any set time. So I sleep until I wake up. Then it's off to the bathroom. Then I open the laptop (I leave mine in snooze too) and email, web browser, Word and Excel (I use the latter two for various things throughout the day). While email is downloading, I go grab the first mug of Diet Coke. If I wake up in time, I'll watch the last few minutes of Good Morning America so I can see what our local weather/news is. Then I switch over to satellite and the 80s music channel. Which makes it time to read my zillions of emails. And surf Facebook. Write my blog for the day. Read other people's blogs. Then I usually start thinking about writing. Are my priorities skewed? Well, yeah. But I'm usually not that productive writing-wise early in the day anyway.
Big waves to Sia,
I'm not sure if I should thank you or not for creating the picture of what I have to look forward to when 'Comedy' becomes a teenager. However, 'kid's' rituals cracked me up.
But with so much to do in the mornings, when do you find the time to bake the scones?
Best,
SIS Barb aka Elle J Rossi
Tori,
You are too funny! You're Diet Coke cracks me up every time. One of these days we'll convert you to the coffee side.
From what I can tell so far, we're all better or at least more productive writers in the evening. We all seem to use the mornings to connect.
But 80's music? Seriously?
SIS Barb aka Elle J Rossi
Barb/Elle, how cool you spend every Monday morning writing at Caribou Coffee. I wish we had a cozy coffee house here on the island. But, alas.
As for my ritual--so boring.
7:15 am--Dogs wake me and if they don't, I wake them so I can let them outside (and back in) before I get in the shower.
While they're out I put on a small pot of coffee and fire up my laptop. Let them in, quickly scan emails, make sure the SIS post went up.
7:30 Shower, brainstorm my story while in shower, then dry/fix my hair.
8am --Feed the dogs and cat and iron my clothes. Scan emails, eat cereral, drink coffee then finish applying makeup and whatnot.
8:30 Leave for work.
8:45-5pm Work at the library. Brainstorm or research story during downtime, although there hasn't been a lot of that lately.
5-6pm Eat supper, feed dogs, play with dogs, visit with husband.
From 6pm to as long as I can stay awake... Hole up in my writing room to work on my WIP. Although I also squeeze in writing 'biz' including promo projects and minimal social networking. Trade several emails with Barb about our stories--which keeps me from feeling like a TOTAL hermit--although I sort of am.
Like I said--Boring. :)
SIS Beth
Meant to add... I don't know that mine's a ritual so much as a rut. LOL
SIS Beth
My day starts at 5:30 AM which I am still getting used to. Up until 2 years ago, I was going to bed about 4:00 AM. Quite a switch.
So, up at 5:30, wake the teen-ager who is so NOT a morning person. Let dogs out, feed dogs, lay on couch and wish I could sleep some more, but watch morning news instead. 6:15, tell teen-ager to get a move;.. on. 6:20, argue with teen-ager about teeth brushing (it gets so old). Tell him good-bye and send him to the bus stop. 6:30, write SIS blog that I should have done the night before. 7:15, get the younger child up who is definitely Mr. Sunshine in the morning. Feed him, get him in the shower. Make coffee, wake up hubby, let dogs out again, get dressed, throw hair in pony tail, pour coffee to go. We all get in to the "Big Head Van" and get Mr. Sunshine to school. Hubby and I visit Lowe's or Home Depot almost daily...then we work until our bodies can take no more. Get home, talk to Barb on phone,cook dinner, homework with kids, spend a little time on the computer, get kids ready for bed, enjoy a little T.V. with my husband, CRASH!
I'm with Beth...maybe it's more of a rut than a ritual!
SIS Bren
Beth,
I can't believe y'all don't have a coffee shop. I'm googling that. It would be a smash hit on your island. If I can't find one for you, I may just have to move there and open one up.
AND...I can't believe you only brew a small pot of coffee. I've spent mornings with you and you can easily slam about 4 cups.
Other than that...you may be in a slight rut. Maybe you could add some fuzzy slippers or something just to change things up a bit! Just a thought.
SIS Barb aka Elle J Rossi
Bren,
I laugh every time you tell me you get up at 5:30 AM. I'm so used to you being up all night it's hard to believe that you go to bed at a normal hour.
And um, doesn't 'teenager' know his aunt (me) works at a dental office? He should be begging to brush his teeth so I won't beat him when I see him.
You neglected to tell us that you actually go to Home-Depot about 3 times a day. Every time I talk to you, you're either on your way there or just leaving. They should hire you as one of their greeters.
Okay. May I suggest something, a small change, to get you out of your rut? Wear your hair in a side ponytail tomorrow. And if Tori will be so nice as to turn her 80's music up a few notches, you can totally rock the side pony while dancing your morning away. Try it!
SIS Barb aka Elle J Rossi
Barb,
Way ahead of you. I wore a side pony last week. Well sort of side... and what's wrong with 80's music? You're telling me it's worse than NKOTB? Remember your posters?
SIS Bren
Bren,
Don't you knock NKOTB. They actually attempted a comeback!
I seem to remember you rocking that XANADU album. Remember that?
SIS Barb aka Elle J Rossi
Bren,
I just found Xanadu on iTunes and I almost wet my pants. I was laughing so hard and so was Lar. Thanks for the memories. Oh yeah, I remembered that one.
SIS Barb
Barb,
What the hell is Xanadu? Was that Olivia Newton John? I only remember the cool things I listened to.
SIS Bren
Oh yeah! It is Olivia Newton John. You actually had the record and you played it on your record player in your room at Grandpa's house. You gotta find that song and listen to it. It will make your day!
SIS Barb
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