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Saturday, 10 March 2007
Do you remember about my Sunshine Project? Well, to those of you who don’t, it’s an idea I was developing aiming at improving people’s well being, making them happier; like a friendship club. I thought about a series of activities that are well known for their positive effect, such as singing, dancing, acting, among others. Well, for a long time that project got stuck in my head, like if something simply didn’t seem right. Until it finally hit me! Just the activities may even be fun and something people may look forward, but it probably wouldn’t help much the rest of the week (as I imagine the meetings happening only once every week). Besides, the question that grew in my mind was who would we perform to? Just friends and relatives? I must admit, I wanted more. It all turned clear when I was reading one of the Dalai Lama’s book (I’m a huge fan), “Ethics for the new Millennium”. At the end of it he makes a very moving petition (please be kind to remember that my book is written in Spanish, so my translation may differ from the official English version): “…I ask you, reader, to make sure that the rest of your life may be so full of meaning as it is possible…” To sum up, he explained how true happiness can only be achieved once we let go our selfishness and help others, in every way we can. That’s when I understood that, although my intention was to help others feel good, their contribution to help others was void. So, the way I found they could feel even better by helping was using these activities in benefit of others, performing –dancing, singing- in homes, hospitals and orphanages. I also thought about an art workshop, so that people could make toys, scarves, gloves and many other things –specially recycling objects- to give away to those in need; and an ecologic workshop to create environmental awareness, where we’d talk, prepare seminars and visit schools and neighborhoods. If you’re interested in making the world a cleaner, healthier place to live take a look at www.cleanup.org, it’s full of advice and useful information. I’ve been a member for three years now, each time trying to contribute at least a bit more. By the way, membership is free, but they also receive donations. If anyone wants more information, just drop an e-mail: mc4988@hotmail.com.
Alter a long time I finally had the courage to make another submission. This time I sent a poem, an article and an educational comic strip (starred by Doctor Glanz, as he’s a scientist, biologist, ecologist and cheerful mate) to an educative publisher. I’m sorry I couldn’t share this gig with you, but I found out about it just one day before the submission acceptance period ended (I spend hours working on it, and could only send it late at night). I hope it turns out, because things are pretty tight here. Thanks for your support! Laura
I’ve accidentally found a great site, called Spreadshirt (http://www.spreadshirt.com). It allows you to create a virtual shop investing absolutely nothing -not even with the product you’ll be selling- in just a few minutes. I’ll explain: after signing up, all you have to do is make a drawing –with a computer program or using paper, ink, pencil or whatever you want; scanned- or come up with an original phrase, word or text –or both-, upload it and choose where you want to see it print. You can choose from many shirts, t-shirts, jackets, mouse pads and other items. Then you choose the price you want to get from each object –a percentage, clearly stated, goes to the site. The funniest part is that it was exactly what I was looking for: a chance to see Joy everywhere, making the world a happier, nicer place to live. I’m designing some cool drawings to send a message of altruism, compassion, love and peace; aiming for a life full of harmony. Like Anais Anais, I also believe that tenderness can change the world. Buy Joy’s products to share this message and make a difference:
http://www.spreadshirt.com/shop.php?sid=88466
I’ve been having some serious money problems. That’s what’s keeping me away from the net. Will and I haven’t managed to get a job, so we’re thinking about giving it a try in the capital. Will’s brother has helped us a lot. In fact, if it weren’t for him we’d be out of light, water, phone and food. But Will has had enough of it –he’s a hard working guy who feels extremely guilty and embarrassed for not having a job-, he’s been very nervous and sad, and he’s willing to play all his chips. Tough time for me too, because I’m not too certain about wanting to go on with our relationship. Like I said, he’s a great guy, but you know, a relationship is more or less like business: you have something to offer that is useful or somehow interest for the other part and the other part has something for you too. In our case, I’ve found out that Will is too fragile and sensitive, which at this level is extremely harmful for both of us. Imagine, when I’m in pain or sick he gets nervous because he doesn’t have the slightest clue about how to help; I end up having to heal myself AND calming him down. Ok, he’s changed, he cares about me now, but his limitations made me stronger, which is great news for me and, unfortunately, bad for him. I learned how to take care, encourage and motivate myself, and now I just can’t think about anything he can offer me in this trade. On the other hand, he seems much more vulnerable now and I’m afraid of him getting depressed. What about love, you may ask? Isn’t there any, after all those four years –my longest relationship ever, by the way-? I do feel some affection for him, but it’s not enough. Besides, I think that my company has made him weak, as he tends to lean on my extroversion and strength to get many problems solved. The ironic part is that he actually seems to love me now. Life is complicated and weird. I miss those simple childhood days...
Thank you for your support, Laura
I’ve been thinking about the way things between Will and I have changed. I was always giving him presents –when we were living apart-, he’s always talking about it, remembering those days joyfully. I have to admit, since my economical situation changed I simply stopped with the gifts. It may sound natural: it takes money to buy gifts. But the fact is that with all the crafts I know I could make inexpensive presents out of empty plastic bottles, wrapping paper and cardboard; draw him a card or write a affectionate letter; maybe a rag dog, using some of the abundant material I kept.
I’m beginning to translate a new project now, written by the same author of that novel I was working on. It’s a collection of short stories.
I decided to share a wonderful family treasure: my great grandfather’s poetry. I still remember my excitement and extreme surprise when I found out that my ancestor had this amazing gift. A notebook full of love poems –the most beautiful I’ve ever seen- he wrote for my great grandmother. I’m copying each poem carefully, with the aim of keeping its original format as much as possible. I already scanned its cover –an 1899 design, developed for a clothier’s, as a gift for celebrating the end of the millennium. As soon as I’m finished, I’ll publish it at Lulu.
I made another wallpaper and a new coloring page yesterday, for Joy’s site. I also have a new cartoon and two more comics to post. I’ve been thinking of alternative uses for my writing that could arouse interest, through non-fiction –self-help- books, and after some thinking and a lot of reading I decided to go for brain power books and audio. The “lot of reading” kept telling me to find a micro niche, a limited interest zone. Most people –I’m included there- make the mistake of trying to target all kinds of audiences and almost every existing topic, thinking that through this sort of generalization they have much more chances to succeed. In theory it may even sound good, but not so much when put into practice. Why? First, because no human being on earth knows about EVERYTHING, even though they tried. It’s like trying to eat a whole watermelon at once; you won’t get too far in any subject at all, barely reaching their surface. On the other hand, if you focus on one single subject it will be much easier for you to master it, research it thoroughly and offer your readers. At the beginning, I thought about hundreds of possibilities –and tried to embrace them all- until it overwhelmed me, throwing me into exhaustion even before starting to write a single word. After the “lot of reading” and realizing I didn’t enjoy most of these areas, I asked myself what made me tick? That’s how I understood I had dedicated most of my life to improve my brain power and neurological health; so I knew that I could offer a lot of highly valuable information and techniques, already tested successfully on myself. Who’s the best to tackle a subject than the one who experienced its benefits and improvements? I’ve already set a large list of products, among e-books and audio resources; because like business people say, before developing your product create a back end project to work on right after, so that the success train doesn’t stop in the first station. The aim is to minimize failure. I’ll be telling you more about it soon. Kind regards, Laura
I made two new comic strips and I’ve made a virtual Golden Album I’ll leave on my computer desk, so that every time I sit at the computer I make sure to look at it, at least once. It’s my first, so it doesn’t look as good as I wanted –it has spelling mistakes, as I did it as fast as I could, the pictures are not very attractive and the texts are too long and the font I chose it’s hard to read-, but I’ll surely improve it later. It’s one of these things I simply had to get done, no matter how primitively; otherwise I probably never put it together. I’ll share it with you soon, in my Further Confessions site. Don’t try to access it yet, as I haven’t launched it. I’ll let you know as soon as I do. Perhaps you remember when I said I wanted to help… Well, I don’t have the guts yet to physically stand in front of people and speak, and I just can’t seem to get rid of this feeling that tells me there’s still a lot to prepare… (We both know that’s just a lame excuse) so I’ll set another web site to carry out this project, even if it is –so far- virtually. Yes, I know… there I go again with another web site… I told you, it must be some new kind of fever. Don’t send the medicine yet, it may be a good virus. Ok, so, for a change, today I’ll teach you one of the simplest ways to improve your brain power: listen to classical music, especially Mozart. Many scientists have done lots of research and have proved this method to work. The Mozart effect, for example, it’s worth mentioning: a group of people was split, half of them were sent to take an exam without listening to any type of music and the other half listened to a piece composed by Mozart only fifteen minutes before taking that very same exam. This last group scored –in average- better than the first. My mother confessed she listened to classical music most of the time when she was at home, during pregnancy, a suggestion of her obstetrician. You don’t even have to sit still listening to it, you can leave it as a “soundtrack” while you do other things –right now, while I’m typing these words, am listening to a beautiful piece composed by Rimsky-Korsakov, called “The young prince and the young princess”, from “Scheherazade”, one of my favorites –it’s like listening to an instrumental fairy tale; absolutely amazing! I can assure you, ideas flow easier and your mind remains calm. Stress and brain capacity are closely linked, as stress kills brain cells and tranquility helps them grow. Give it a try. Thank you, Laura
Today I found out that at Blogger, by selecting Adsense, I can get paid for every click someone makes when visiting my blog. They say it’s very fast and easy to get started. I think I’ll give it a try… Why not? Today I’ll start working in my “Further Confessions of a Writer”. I’ll gather some poetry and short stories I have and record –either on video or just audio, I don’t know yet- the “behind the pages”. No reply from Chicken Soup so far. I’m still afraid of sending my work to other places… I’ll have to work on that and give it a try. After all, a “no” is not so bad. It only depends on how you take it. Many personalities received a no sometime in their lives. Did you know that Walt Disney was fired from a job due to “lack of ideas”? Someone also told Frank Sinatra he didn’t have what it takes to be a singer; and Einstein was tagged by their teachers as “dumb”. The difference between winners and losers? Courage and persistence. Kind regards, Laura
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