Saturday, January 20, 2007

The Wall

No, not Pink Floyd’s The Wall. I mean THE WALL. The one that pops up from time to time in every writer’s life. It’s here. Right in front of me. But if there’s one thing I’ve learned in reading everyone’s blogs for a while, it’s not to let the wall get to me. Normally I’d get discouraged and give up, worry about it until the wall is thicker/higher. Not gonna happen. Now, I’m not going to say that if the wall doesn’t shift by Monday evening it’s not going to start worrying me, but I know it will move, tumble down as long as I keep at it.

I have a new toy. See the meter at the end of the column on the right? I love it. It’s fascinating to see where everyone comes from. There’s a couple of lurkers that have caught my attention, but that’s okay. I lurk. Sometimes a lot. There are days when I don’t have anything to say. I know, me not having something to say? It happens. But I still want to know what’s going on with my friends, so I lurk.

I have to do minor surgery tonight. I got a splinter in the fleshy part of my palm below my thumb. The counters at work at very rough and got me quite a few times yesterday – including once under a nail. I got that one, but this other one is long and right below the surface. It’s starting to swell up a little, so I guess I need to go find a needle, rubbing alcohol and start on it. I hate that, but it has to be done.

Have a great Saturday. I’ll be at work until 1:00, and then nothing until Tuesday. There’s some household chores that I have to do (something about clothes being a requirement), but other than that – it’s writing time.

27 comments:

Brandy said...

Good luck on the minor surgery. I hate splinter and have made the mistake of asking Chris to get them for me! AAAGGH! He makes you want to DRINK the rubbing alcohol. I lurk on some sites too, glad to know I'm in good company. I am POSITIVE that you will have no problem taking a aledge hammer to that wall that is blocking you. Don't foget your safety goggles *g* Good luck with the laundry, I'm sure Baileyboo will be a big help! *G*

Bailey Stewart said...

Oh, not BooBear (Baileyboo), Bubba is my laundry buddy.

And I picked at the thing for a while and only managed to make it irritated. So I've got a bandaid on it and I'm going to wait until it puffs up a little more.

Brandy said...

This is going to sound strange, but my Mom always told me that when it came to splintners, your skin would eventually "spit" it out. Just keep alcohol on it, so that it doesn't get infected!
AND sorry to misname the furbaby that helps with the laundry!

Jordan Summers said...

You can get past this. When you hit a wall, go around it. :) Start playing the what if game and keep going.

Bailey Stewart said...

That's okay Brandy - I get yours mixed up all of the time. The only thing BooBear helps with is emptying the trash - unfortunately, that's not always on trash days and most of the time it's all over the floor.

Jordan - Oh, I'm not worried - I had such a productive day Wednesday that I think the muses are in traction from the shock. LOL

Anonymous said...

That WALL will fall! Thanks for stopping by with your comments on my Daddy's death. It's been very difficult and all thoughts really do help me.


Thank you very much....

Anonymous said...

Even the Berlin Wall fell!! Just keep chippin' away, girl.

And Dr. Loreth recommends polysporin for anything icky like that finger. Won't take the sliver out, but it works like magic to stop infection, and that throbbing pain once you've dug at it.

Anonymous said...

Proud of you for facing down that wall, Bailey. No Fear!!

And take good care of that wound.
:-/

Dru said...

Don't worry about the wall, I see it tumbling down sooner than later.

Oh man, I hate splinters and I'm like you, I pick at it until I get it to come up. Make sure you use alcohol and ointment on it. I wonder why something that is in your skin hurts more when you don't try to get it out?

Anonymous said...

Love the writer's tips! Know you'll climb over "the wall."

Jana

Bernita said...

~lurking~
Leap over it, Bailey!

Bailey Stewart said...

The splinter is bandaged and the hand has quit throbbing. I'm taking Jordan's advice and going around the wall and working on something further down that's been playing around in my brain.

Melinda - anytime. Been there, have the battlescars.

Bailey Stewart said...

Oh, hi Jana!

Bernita you lovely lurker you. *gg*

Meretta said...

You think Pink Floyd and I think John Cougar! Regardless, give it a good kick and be persistent. OR try another route in your ms. Sometimes its no more than you've taken a wrong direction and subconsciously you know it.

Keep doctoring that splinter spot! Hydrogen peroxide is the "cure" in our house. It works wonders and it fizzes which keeps the kids happy and interested. Very fun to watch so much that they forget they are hurting. ;)

Anonymous said...

Bailey, hugs on the wall, and I hope you'll find your way around it! As for the splinter post-surgery, what Devon said. Make sure it doesn't get infected.

Siobhan said...

Go round the wall? That's great advice. Why didn't I think of that? I've been facing a wall myself the past couple of weeks... I did all my chores today so that I can write tomorrow. I need to be fresh, don't you? Hope the splinter is well out. Don't let it get infected!

Bailey Stewart said...

I am watching the splinter carefully. I have one of the advanced healing band-aids on it right now and will see if I have some Hydrogen Peroxide around here, otherwise I'll swab it with alcohol again. I don't have any Rosemary. It's on the ball (I think that's what it's called) of the palm, so I'd have to soak the entire hand. I'll probably do it tonight. I've just got to let it fester because I can't dig it out. I even put ice on it to numb it and that didn't work. I'm a wuss.

Anonymous said...

Ouch! Between the mold, lifting boxes and splinters I'd say that place is out to get you. Hopefully you'll keep an infection at bay. (((Hugs)))

Pink Floyd managed to tear The Wall down and I know you will too, especially after such a wonderful start!

Joely Sue Burkhart said...

Just keep grinding away. A paragraph. A sentence. Whatever you can get, every single day, no matter how "bad" you think it is. Each word you get will whittle that wall away to NOTHING.

It's snowing here. Calling for 4-6 inches. Lord help me, I hope we don't lose power again....

Wishing for spring!!

catslady said...

Dr. Jeanne swears by neosporin with pain control!!!

Wall, what wall, I don't see a wall :)

catslady said...

Oh, and that site meter was interesting!!

Toni Anderson said...

Bash that wall with a hammer!! Damn wall!!! :) Hate those!

((())) on the splinters. Yow.

And LOL at liking to see where people are from, I love knowing where people are from :)

Michele said...

Bailey! Where'd you get that cool tool?
I want one. *grin*

One of my cousins swears she lurks at my site, I'd love to catch her *giggle*

I lurked yesterday...did you see?

As for the wall...it's good for playing racketball with other ideas.
Every wall has a loose brick - a secret hidey hole ..there's a muse treat behind it.
They like to make you work for it...
A wall is good for passionate love scenes... imagine the wall, doing something against that wall...bet it comes down ...while your temperature goes up....**waggles brows**

HOpe the splinter comes out soon. I'm a Hydrogen Peroxide and Neosporin combo girl myself.
Emla cream numbs an area so well, you could dig to your hearts content and feel nothing...but it is prescription only .... it's like novacaine for the skin.
Great stuff.

My eldest has had blood work done since he was 4 yrs old. It's helped prevent the fear of needles. Now he's fine.

Have a great writing day beyond the wall!!!

Susan Rix said...

Ouchies - to the wall and the splinter.

Oh my, the wall... *shudder*. The wall I experienced after 33,000 words won my last battle. I'm now supposed to be working on a brand new wip, but I'm scared to start - I couldn't bear to get another wall...

Best wishes on extricating the splinter and not letting the wall win.

Ooh, have you seen me lurking? Sometimes I don't have time to comment which I guess makes me a lurker?! At least your new gadget lets you know people are still there even when you can't 'see' them.

Sue :-)

Bailey Stewart said...

Yes Sue, that's what a lurker does - comes by and reads the post but doesn't post their comments. Sometimes I go by someone's blog and I either a) don't have anything to add; b) don't have the time to actually post, but just trying to check in.

I can figure out most of the people from their locations, but others go through some sort of filter thing and doesn't give details. It's interesting to see which blogs they come from - hitting links. I can sometimes figure out who it is when they "blogroll". I'm not trying to see who's coming by or not, but I love to put up the world map and see the clusters. I have a LOT of clusters around the New England area of the states (Northeast for those unfamiliar), which means I have a lot of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvanis, Massachusetts, etc. - I know who they are. *waving*

Don't let the wall get to you. Sometimes if you leave it alone, time will work on the wall and it will crumble all on it's own. So go off and do something different. You'll be surprised at what happens when you go back.

Okay, enough with my procrastinating. I have one load of laundry done, one about to go in the dryer, and tons of other things that have to be done - that's part of my wall and I won't get around that part until I hit at this stuff. Like taking Christmas down? LOL

Michele said...

OK, I bit the cyberbullet and tried that counter thingy.
Very cool and amazing .... and scary!
I'm amazed at the amount of info...
How did you ever find this thing???

Anonymous said...

I'm still fighting with a lot of things on the move. Have to be out in 9 days now and the sorting and throwing out stuff is not going too well. I think I need to get out for a while just to get a new perspective.

And talking about laundry... Well, maybe the less said and the more done the better.