Shipwrecked & Comatose

What I don't want my vacation to look like . In 2016, Airbnb began an advertising campaign that told its potential customers, "Don't just go there. Live there."  Commercials featured people in houses and apartments, playing in swimming pools, shopping in the neighborhoods, and cooking in the kitchens.  The goal is to live like a local and treat your vacation destination as if you were at home.  If you rent an Airbnb, you will have the same experience as someone who lives in your destination.. Compare that to my first trip to Chincoteague back in 1995.  I was 25 years old and I hadn't gone on a proper vacation in years.  I was probably fourteen the last time I stayed in full service accommodations. On that first trip to Chincoteague I was staying at a charming Bed and Breakfast in the middle of town. I remember coming back to my room after my first day at the beach.  I walked in and saw my bed was made, my room was tidy, the towels were hung in my bathroom, ...

For years coworkers were shocked when I almost always came to work on my birthday.  I never saw the point of taking the day off.  Why would I stay home?  My friends had to work.  My husband had to work.  I would be all alone trying to come up with something fun to do by myself.  That's not a way for an extrovert to celebrate her birthday. I might as well go into the office.  Then I could tell people it was my birthday and people would be nice to me and maybe even buy me a piece of cake.  Taking my birthday off seemed like a waste of a vacation day.  Why not save the day for when Kevin and I wanted to take a real vacation? Then three things happened. First there was the pandemic.  I don't take many real vacations anymore.  Even though there aren't many travel restrictions out there, two years later I am reluctant to book a flight anywhere given the current state of airline travel.  That leaves me with limited options.  Sinc...

Here is a fun writing prompt I found on one of my lists.  Your zodiac/horoscope.  Do you think it fits your personality? Horoscopes are a funny thing.  I'm a skeptic about metaphysical beliefs.  I believe the universe is chaos.  There is no rhyme or reason to what happens to any of us.  The only justice, reason, and purpose we have in this life is that which we create ourselves.  I'm happier believing in chaos than I am believing in purpose.  If you believe in some kind of universal system, some reason behind what happens, you'll only be disappointed when things don't work out.  You waste energy looking for reasons and waiting for justice.  Things happen, we work our way through them, and we do our best to do right by others. That doesn't mean it isn't fun, and often comforting, to temporarily believe otherwise. Belief that supernatural forces somehow guide us, or already put a plan in place, gives us more of a sense of control.  I ...

Today I was inspired by this blog prompt:  What is something someone told you about yourself that you never forgot? I always wonder what the author of those prompts is thinking when a prompt like this is offered. Was the writer hoping I would come up with something inspirational?  That was not my first thought when I saw the prompt.  Like the " Dark Teacher " prompt, I had a strong immediate reaction and decided to create a post about the first thought that popped into my head. You never compromise Have you ever watched a movie or television show, or read a book, where one character tells off another and it causes that character to take a long look at her life and she changes for the better? I don’t think this happens so dramatically in real life, but someone did tell me something once that stayed with me, sometimes for the better, but possibly also for the worse.   Sometimes the people who point out your worst faults are no better than you are yourself, but it...