Day 254: Air Travel

In what one way should airlines improve airline travel?

Frankly, we need to invent a transporter, like in Star Trek.  “Beam me up, Scottie.”  or what I would like to say.  "Beam me over to York, England, Scott."  Airplanes are just tough when you have to be on them for hours on end.  In the mean time, the movies should be free, the seats more comfortable, and the price reduced.  Like that is going to happen!

Day 253: My Name

Do you like your name?  Do you feel like it suits you?  If you could change your name, would you?  What would you change it to?

Growing up, I hated my name, Lisa.  Everywhere I went, Lisa’s where in the area.  I graduated with four others with the same name.  I felt common, ordinary because of my name.  Now, I loved my middle name, Madelle.  The uniqueness thrilled me.  I thought about changing my name when I went off to college, but by that time, I felt unique despite the everyday first name.

Now, too many years later to mention, my name is just that, my name.  I have worked at being unique in other ways despite my name.  I wouldn’t change it.  I am that Lisa who has stories growing up a logger's daughter who spent twenty years in the military, and who now is an author who loves to garden, paint, snap pictures, and loves to travel all over the world.  So, a new name?  Naw.  Mine fits like an old glove.  Beside, I have no idea what else would fit.

Lisa Madelle Nixon Richard, I like it.

Day 252: Favorite Holiday

What is your favorite holiday, and what do you love about it?

Hands down, my favorite holiday is Easter.  I believe it to be the culmination of my faith.  Unlike Christmas, the world doesn’t ruin the season with materialism.  Sure, there is an Easter Bunny, but he is pretty low key compared to Santa Claus.  Also, spring either arrives with Easter or will be coming soon.  Best time of year.

Day 251: Camp NaNo

What has ended recently in your life, or what new thing has just begun?

On July 1st, I will be doing Camp NaNo.  This is a writing challenge on the internet that I try to participate in during July.  This year, I have two big projects I am working on.  I will be starting a new novella for the Great Novel Challenge and finishing book five of my Living the Tenets series.  Eighty-six hours is what I will be committing to for the challenge.  At least, I hope to be doing all of this.  A trip to Libby and a trip to Wolf Point will be a bit of an obstacle, but hopefully, I will accomplish the mission.

Day 250: Quiet

“Sometimes it’s best to just keep quiet.”

“God is in heaven and you are on earth, so let your words be few.”

ECCLESIASTES 5:2 NIV

The calendar on my desk had this printed on one of the days last week.  I like the advice; unfortunately, I struggle keeping quiet with those I feel safe and comfortable talking with in a more intimate setting.  I find that I say things that aren’t necessarily kind or sensitive.  I can be argumentative when the topic is near and dear to my heart.  And to be honest, I do get tired of being quiet.  I have to listen to other people’s opinions, shouldn’t they have to hear mine?  And then there are the times people want to know what I am thinking, until I honestly tell them.  Conversations can be difficult.  In the future, I will continue to try to use few words.  I am sure I will continue to mess up as well.  I am human after all.

Day 249: Writing Update

After 248 days, for the first time, I don't feel like writing a blog post.  I looked at the seven topics for the coming days.  None of them sparked an interest.  What is wrong?  Well, let's see....  I believe my muse is excited that one adventure is ending and a new adventure is starting. 

As I wrote on May 1st, I am participating in the Great Novel Challenge by writing a 40,000+ word novel every two months.  With June coming to an end, my first novel is due on Sunday.  Last night, I thought I had three more scenes to write.  As I finished up scene 28, I realized that in fact this was the last scene.  I am so excited.  I now have five days left of the challenge.  I will edit the last four scenes and hand it over to my first reader.  I will also work on the formatting and book cover.  I really think I can have the book up on kindle for sale by July 1.  Too cool.  Knowing I am so close is making it hard to think about blog posts.

The other difficulty is that I am stoked for my next writing project.  My husband suggested that I try a romance for something different.  He mentioned this a couple weeks ago.  I have been letting the idea ruminate in my head.  Vali, my muse, finally set me straight.  I had been thinking a contemporary story.  She wants one completely different.  I am going to write a tragic love story set in the 1940s in Kalispell, Montana.  I am nervous.  The last time I attempted a love story it turned into a ghost hunting story.  I am hoping I am a stronger writer and can pull it off.  We will see.  Wish me luck!

Day 248: Useful Tool

What is the most useful tool you own?

Oh, after traveling to Hawaii, this is an easy answer.  Hands down, my cell phone is the most useful tool I own.  I used Google maps the entire time and never once became lost or turned around while on Maui.  The trip would have been much more stressful without the phone.  Also, I found an app that helped me with the flight leaving LAX.  Yep, I will never travel without my phone.

Day 247: The New Kid

When have you felt like “the new kid”?

Too many times to count!!!  A better way to ask it is when was the last time you felt like “the new kid”?  Last fall when I went to the business class for writers in Las Vegas I definitely felt like the new kid and a fish out of water.  I didn’t know a soul and many of the people there all knew each other.  I felt so out of place.  I also felt out of place because I feel like an imposture, and I see the world through a soldier’s eyes more then an artist, and there is a big difference between the two.  I did survive, and I will go again this fall.  I will probably won’t feel like the new kid, but I will still feel out of place.

Day 246: Movie Review

Think of the last movie you saw.  Write a review of it.

The last movie I watched was The Upside on the airplane on the way back from Hawaii in the middle of the night.  The opening scene confused me a bit because the sound on my video feed messed up.  Once that was fixed, I realized the story started in the middle and then went to the beginning.  I will say, I didn’t like how they portrayed the police officers.  Per typical Hollywood, they made them African American haters.  I thought it was a bit over the top, but then, I don’t live in Southern California.  I didn’t let this ruin the rest of the movie.

I enjoyed the story of a rich person giving a poor person with a record a fresh start even if the rich person had ulterior motives.  Both main actors did a stellar performance.  The content became a bit crude but necessary for the topic of taking care of a paraplegic.  I laughed a lot.  I would definitely recommend this movie.

Day 245: Dating Site Ad

Make up a really awkward description or ad for an online dating site.

Introverted author who struggles being around all people.  First date needs to be on messenger.  If you are liked a second date on Marco Polo.  Third date will be in a well lit coffee shop.  At this point, the relationship will be critiqued.  Either the relationship will end and you will be the villain in the next three novels, or you will become the love interest in the next three steamy romance novels.  You will live on in infamy from that time forward.

Day 244: Excursions

Here are the photos of the excursions we took, minus the aquarium.  I had packed my camera at this point.

                           From my Balcony

The Botanical Garden

These seem to come out of a Dr. Seuss book.

Turtle

A gorgeous red bird from across the small valley.

Luau

He blew the conch shell to invite us to dinner.

Where the pig was cooked.

Day 243: The Resort

    Here are the photos I took around the resort.

Day 242: Traveling with Social Anxiety

About eleven years ago, I went to Hawaii on a girls trip.  My daughter was so upset that she couldn’t go.  She resented the fact that she wasn’t included with the girls.  I promised her that we would go for her junior year.  Well, she has hit junior year, so I had to keep my promise.  We also used the trip as a carrot.  With all of her struggles in school the last few years, this trip was only going to happen if she went to school all year.  She accomplished her mission.  We went to Maui.

Going into the trip, I was worried.  Madelle’s social anxiety causes panic attacks.  The two of us struggle when her attitude turns bad due to the panic.  Armed with four years of practicing our communication skills and anxiety skills, we headed out.  Of course, we did great in the Helena airport and Salt Lake City.  I am very comfortable in Salt Lake.  LAX though is a beast.  We arrived to people everywhere.  I was concerned about our next flight and if we were in the right area.  It wasn’t posted on the board yet.  Madelle was panicking and hungry.  We hit potential crisis mode.

Wandering around, we found an off shoot hallway.  I ignored her snarky comments which is her way of relieving her stress.  Sure, it adds to mine if I listen, hence the ignoring.  We sat for a bit to collect ourselves.  I left my backpack and wandered off to find her something to eat.  After I fed her, I went to find something for me to eat.  Yep, I should have just gotten me something as well, but walking around was better for me then sitting on a floor.  For our first day, this was the only issue we had.  We were in the correct terminal, and it went smashingly well.  We finished the day with a nice dinner on the beach.

Being worn out from the travel, our first day we just hung out.  We did attempt to find a fruit stand.  When I started talking through the drive and how to find it, she began panicking.  I stopped at Safeway.  She was being extra snarky.  I “yelled”.  A year ago this would have resulted in a full meltdown, but she breathed and we collected snacks for the room.  Crisis averted.  We walked on the beach in swim clothes later in the afternoon.  I had to go in the water.  Madelle was reluctant, but she followed.  I had a great time.  She did too until a wave hit her and filled her ear with water.  She became disorientated.  Yep, out of the water we went.  She struggled with the ear the rest of the vacation.  I wonder if it ended up just being her excuse.  In the evening, we traveled north to find sushi.  The restaurant had too many people in it for her, so we took it to go.

Our next day, I wandered on my own in the morning.  She wasn’t doing well.  I felt so bad.  I had wanted her to be having fun.  She wasn’t.  So, we took a walk down to the Whaler’s Village, a nice little shopping center.  For the first fifteen minutes, she did really well, but the people overwhelmed her.  We grabbed some gelato and headed back to the resort.  All the people in bathing suits or the guys not wearing shirts also bothered her.  She is modest and hates to be around people revealing themselves.  I don’t get it, but it makes her panic.  I guess the beach wasn’t the best idea.  Later that night, we went to the luau.  When I saw the long line of people, I was surprised Madelle didn’t bulk right away.  But, she made it through the line.  We got to our table.  She looked miserable.  We ate our dinner and then she had a meltdown.  I quickly got her out of the area and headed back to the room.  By the time we hit the elevator, tears rolled down her cheeks.  In the room, she started crying.  We missed the show.  She was disappointed and feeling guilty for ruining the show for me.  Like I told her, I have seen one.  All was good.  She wanted to go home.  Uff da!!!

The next day she was not in a good mental state.  I didn’t want to leave her alone, but I also didn’t want to sit in the room all day.  With a phone call home to Dad, she decided to try the botanical garden.  I picked the one that I thought would have the least amount of people.  I picked well.  We had the place to ourselves until the last ten minutes.  She enjoyed the ducks.  We went back to the resort.  She didn’t leave the room the rest of the day.  I was sad.  But what do you do?  I took advantage of the situation and worked on my current novel in the breezeway and on the balcony.  Sure, I preferred to be out and about, but I enjoyed the writing as well.

Finally, the day to go home.  She was antsy and wanted out of the room.  Yay.  We checked out early and went to the aquarium.  She of course struggled because of all the tourists.  I would have liked to spend more time looking, but she needed away from all the people.  This put us ahead of schedule to be at the airport.  I took the time to drive more of the island.  We drove the first part of the Hana Highway.  I had thought we would travel along the north shore.  Nope, we were in the middle of jungle.  I loved it.  She was in no mood to explore.  Darn.  Next time for me.

A lot of people would look at this vacation as a waste of time and money.  A part of me feels that way too.  I didn’t get hardly any sun.  That is horrible.  But really, I think the vacation was a success.  I traveled and spent time with my girl.  You can’t put a price tag on that.  I also learned something I have been to dense to learn to this point.  My daughter can’t travel the way I like to travel.  She can’t do the tourist thing.  I need to learn how to travel without doing the attractions that everyone visits.  I am not sure how or what this will entail.  Granted, hopefully, Madelle will continue to get better and learn how to deal with a lot of people.  But if not, if I want to travel with her, I need to change the travel mode.  I have more learning to do.

Day 241: Maui

The first thing I noticed flying into Maui was how comfortable the airport felt.  Yes, I realize this might sound odd.  However, I loved that I felt at home.  Getting to baggage took no effort.  I didn’t get lost like I did in Vegas.  After collecting our luggage, we went in search of the car rental area.  Sure, they had a tram, but we simply walked the eight minutes, beating the tram and the long line of tram takers.  We had our car and were on the road in less then 30 minutes.  The time included chatting with the guy that let us pick out what car we wanted.  Yep, we picked the one with the sunroof!!!

Driving was a breeze.  I used my cell phone for navigation.  Madelle helped a lot the first day.  I honestly don’t think I made one wrong turn the entire trip.  The island is small in land and population.  At times, traffic was Montana heavy.  Easy, peasy.  I loved it.  By day two, I was comfortable and by day five I almost didn’t need the navigational assistance.  I would have the place completely under control countryside wise and probably even the biggest town.  I loved driving all over the place.

We stayed at a resort.  I am not sure if I would do that the same or not.  I loved the easy access to the beach.  I loved the manicured lawn and gardens.  I am not sure if June is the off season or not, but I felt there wasn’t all that many people staying at the resort.  I loved that aspect of the area as well.  Oh, and the beach was perfect.  The swimming was delightful.  I loved the little pub.  We had shopping a half a mile walk from the resort.  Really, I think it was the perfect place for my first visit.  I loved sitting in the breezeway during the heat of the day to write.  On the balcony, birds stopped by to visit.  Pricy, yes, but well worth the ease for me.

Though we didn’t do many activities, Maui has a lot to offer.  I look forward to going back so I can explore more of the botanical gardens, see the blowhole, take the Hana Highway all the way to the end, see the bamboo forest, a crater, go fishing, snorkeling, boating, whale watching, and see a black beach.  Yep, there is plenty to do on the island without the people congestion of Oahu.

Yep, I plan to go again.  I am not sure when or with whom.  I might just go on my own, though I would love to go with Jerry or my sister.  I am going to rent a jeep next time.  Man, they looked like a lot of fun.  I want to go snorkeling and be in the sun a lot more.  I want to swim every day at least once.  Hum, I really could go back tomorrow, I loved it that much.  Maui is the best of the Hawaiian Islands.

Day 240: Do-Over

If you had a “do-over” button, what one event in you life would you like to have a second chance at?

I don’t really believe in “do-overs.”  Everything I do is the best that I can do with the given information I have at the time and the ability I have at the time.  No, I haven’t done everything right in my life, but I have done my best.  I look back at all my decisions and actions of the past, and I am proud of everything I have done.  Sure, if I had joined the military right after high school, I would have gotten my degree faster, but I learned tons in the struggle up to joining the military.  Sure, I could have handled Madelle’s illness better at the beginning, or I should have seen it years prior, but I didn’t have the knowledge.  Going back in time, wouldn’t necessarily make any of my life better, just different.  So why would I want to do any of it over again?  I am very happy with my past and don’t need to do any of it over again.

Day 239: Inherit

Describe in detail one item that you would love to inherit from a relative, or that you have inherited.

The item I really wanted to inherit was my grandmother’s portrait.  Since I was a little girl, I wanted that to be in my house.  The picture is colored, but the old fashion color that seems off.  Even so, her blue eyes are so vivid and gorgeous.  She is very young with her hair pulled back and a soft, kind smile.  Just gorgeous!  I have no idea who has the framed picture.  I think my uncle has it, and it will be passed down to one of his children.  Sure, I am sad, but really the sadness comes from not having Grandma here on earth.  The great thing is that one of the cousins did have copies made, and I do have one of them.  I also wanted to inherit one of my grandpa’s Mercedes.  Instead, they were sold.  I almost bought one, but the practicality of such a purchase just didn’t fit my fiscally conservative side.

I do look forward to receiving my other grandmother’s buffet, if my sister doesn't want it. The huge cupboard might possibly be to big for my house, but I will find a spot for it.  I remember it from when I was a kid and all her fancy dishes were stored in it.  I will do the same.  Granted, I will have to buy fancy dishes.  Ha, ha.  Okay, the nice dishes that are way up in the pantry will be stored in the buffet.  The piece of furniture has a door on each side with three drawers running down the middle.  The doors stick.  I will have to see if they can be fixed.  It is beautiful.

Day 238: Endings

What book or book series did you wish would continue when you were done reading it?

As a little girl, I wanted more Little House on the Prairie books, oh, and Soup books.  As an adult, I like that a book or series ends.  I have a million books I want to read, so ending good stories is a positive for me.  Now, with that said, I hate it when a series hasn’t ended or I run out of books by an amazing author.  Edmund Rutherford is my new favorite author.  I read three of his standalone novels last year.  I think I have five left.  I want to read only one a year, so I can have something to look forward to in the future.  Also, Patrick Rothfuss is taking forever getting his next book done in his series.  Of course, he is probably waiting on the publishing company.  So really, I don’t mind a book or series ending.  In fact, I say ya.  Then I don’t have to wait on the next one coming out.

Day 237: Better or Worse

Is our world today a better or worse place than it was when you were a kid?

Truly, I believe it is neither better or worse.  The world is most definitely different from when I was a kid.  I believe we have the same amount of good people and bad people.  I believe technology brings all the bad closer.  We are more informed.  We are just as lied to by the press.  At my Bible Study group we talked about all of this.  In every generation, we can see the terrible aspects of what the world faced.  And in each generation, people have the same decision to wrestle with.  Believe the world is terrible and everyone is doomed, or the way I prefer, believe the world is a beautiful place and watch for the good all around.  Most of all, I continue to work at making my section of the world a better place by being kind, smiling, and participating in joy.