Blog Dis
Upcoming Event
I hope to make an appearance at the Ottawa Romance Book Fair, when a date is officially announced for 2027. This is a one-day event held at the Conference Centre, so check back soon for updates.
I hope to make an appearance at the Ottawa Romance Book Fair, when a date is officially announced for 2027. This is a one-day event held at the Conference Centre, so check back soon for updates.
2024-07-30
She says with a rueful eye and a dose of hard-earned wisdom, "It ain't easy getting along with everyone, much less with yourself." You got that right, as I pat myself on the back, for making an obvious statement.
This post will conclude my 'getting' series of 'getting on', 'getting off', 'getting enough' and finally 'getting along.' Perhaps the most difficult of the lot, to get along with your family and friends, with co-workers, strangers and Government officials, and let us not forget the inner power struggle of your personality and its befuddling quirks and miss-fires. We believe that within each of us there exists a place that has fine-tuned our behaviour to a level of finesse that getting along with others and ourselves should flow as easy as sticky syrup would drop out a glass bottle. Not so. Getting along is the actual act of modifying your behaviour and individuality, in order that you're able to fit in with pretty much anyone, because you're modulating yourself when in the company of the in-crowd or to look more like you can pull off their clickish behaviour.
Admittedly, I'm the first to admit that I don't get along with everyone. I've followed my doggedly stubbornly independent ideas since the day I was born. It began simply enough in believing that I didn't need to attend Kindergarten school. I was a wee-tot of six years who made up wonderful lies to my teacher about how my mother had forced me to eat too many bowls of soup, and so logically the teacher would send me home with an upset tummy. I didn't go home, of course. I stopped at the local playground and promptly threw myself into a mud pool and dirtied my pretty little skirt. Why? At the time I chose not to get along , to refuse to accept the expectations being placed on me. I never considered the impact of choosing not to get along. I just knew that I didn't want to get along. When you're a kid, you act on impulse and maybe there's a slim chance to reflect later.
Getting along has it advantages inasmuch that you are thought of as a team player, one who can be counted on to come through in a pinch. Getting along in the workplace is especially vital because in said arena, the politics are as bloody as Roman battles and if you aren't part of the aristocracy of upper-management, then you're part of the Plebiscite society and therefore not getting along means you'll fall from the grace of one exalted place to find yourself in the pit of another. Yet, and despite either side, you must cope with getting along. It can't be avoided. It can be thwarted, however, as we see by the growing houseless population fighting to survive on the streets; the tired, worn-down disenfranchised individuals with loads of free time on their hands, who at some point in time in life had fallen on hard times, but ironically, however, there's a pecking order even among the houseless.
Few know how to survive and thrive living on the fringe of society. I've compartmentalized most priorities in my life and I place getting along on the top of my list. I find I feel better when I make an effort to get along with family and to cope with their eccentricities. It generally means I must learn to continually forgive their failings and they mine. Getting along with my banking officer, however, is an entirely different story because so long as I have money to invest, he and or she must make the effort to get along with me. You see, the see-saw of life tips up and down and up and down and every so often the bottom of your see-saw hits the ground hard and kicks you in the caboose, to remind you that getting along is a methodical and normal process of life, but it's bumpy at best.
Yes! We all want and need to get along with everyone and everything in our lives. But I shan't leave you now with this simplified version of getting along. I can only attest to the belief I've come to know since being alive on this planet and that is never, never, never, shall you have all your ducks lined up in a row, even if your goal is to get along across the board. And by this I mean, you can have the most astounding career and home and relationship life but perhaps you may have health issues. Conversely, you can enjoy tip-top health, an amazing home and relationship but have problems at work. Lastly, you may be able to balance with pure expertise a phenomenal work life, amazing health and yet your relationship is on the skids.
Try as you might, you simply can't make it work for every element of your life, to get along with every other element. I've tried. Believe me. It simply won't jive. But this reality of fact doesn't detract from my feeling that trying to get along is worth the expense of effort regardless.
In the end, I remind myself there is and will always be one relationship I have with the external world, with which I've always gotten along famously and this is 70% pure darkest of dark chocolate... my baby, my savior, my lust, my wonder drug...
This post will conclude my 'getting' series of 'getting on', 'getting off', 'getting enough' and finally 'getting along.' Perhaps the most difficult of the lot, to get along with your family and friends, with co-workers, strangers and Government officials, and let us not forget the inner power struggle of your personality and its befuddling quirks and miss-fires. We believe that within each of us there exists a place that has fine-tuned our behaviour to a level of finesse that getting along with others and ourselves should flow as easy as sticky syrup would drop out a glass bottle. Not so. Getting along is the actual act of modifying your behaviour and individuality, in order that you're able to fit in with pretty much anyone, because you're modulating yourself when in the company of the in-crowd or to look more like you can pull off their clickish behaviour.
Admittedly, I'm the first to admit that I don't get along with everyone. I've followed my doggedly stubbornly independent ideas since the day I was born. It began simply enough in believing that I didn't need to attend Kindergarten school. I was a wee-tot of six years who made up wonderful lies to my teacher about how my mother had forced me to eat too many bowls of soup, and so logically the teacher would send me home with an upset tummy. I didn't go home, of course. I stopped at the local playground and promptly threw myself into a mud pool and dirtied my pretty little skirt. Why? At the time I chose not to get along , to refuse to accept the expectations being placed on me. I never considered the impact of choosing not to get along. I just knew that I didn't want to get along. When you're a kid, you act on impulse and maybe there's a slim chance to reflect later.
Getting along has it advantages inasmuch that you are thought of as a team player, one who can be counted on to come through in a pinch. Getting along in the workplace is especially vital because in said arena, the politics are as bloody as Roman battles and if you aren't part of the aristocracy of upper-management, then you're part of the Plebiscite society and therefore not getting along means you'll fall from the grace of one exalted place to find yourself in the pit of another. Yet, and despite either side, you must cope with getting along. It can't be avoided. It can be thwarted, however, as we see by the growing houseless population fighting to survive on the streets; the tired, worn-down disenfranchised individuals with loads of free time on their hands, who at some point in time in life had fallen on hard times, but ironically, however, there's a pecking order even among the houseless.
Few know how to survive and thrive living on the fringe of society. I've compartmentalized most priorities in my life and I place getting along on the top of my list. I find I feel better when I make an effort to get along with family and to cope with their eccentricities. It generally means I must learn to continually forgive their failings and they mine. Getting along with my banking officer, however, is an entirely different story because so long as I have money to invest, he and or she must make the effort to get along with me. You see, the see-saw of life tips up and down and up and down and every so often the bottom of your see-saw hits the ground hard and kicks you in the caboose, to remind you that getting along is a methodical and normal process of life, but it's bumpy at best.
Yes! We all want and need to get along with everyone and everything in our lives. But I shan't leave you now with this simplified version of getting along. I can only attest to the belief I've come to know since being alive on this planet and that is never, never, never, shall you have all your ducks lined up in a row, even if your goal is to get along across the board. And by this I mean, you can have the most astounding career and home and relationship life but perhaps you may have health issues. Conversely, you can enjoy tip-top health, an amazing home and relationship but have problems at work. Lastly, you may be able to balance with pure expertise a phenomenal work life, amazing health and yet your relationship is on the skids.
Try as you might, you simply can't make it work for every element of your life, to get along with every other element. I've tried. Believe me. It simply won't jive. But this reality of fact doesn't detract from my feeling that trying to get along is worth the expense of effort regardless.
In the end, I remind myself there is and will always be one relationship I have with the external world, with which I've always gotten along famously and this is 70% pure darkest of dark chocolate... my baby, my savior, my lust, my wonder drug...
2024-07-29
Whimsy
If only I could customize a man
I would build him a smile
as wide as a canyon in mile.
I would create a twinkle in his eye,
then expire, longingly gazing into his stare
and dare to mold him further.
I would embellish him,
with a torso of sculpted clay
if only to convey his goose feather and comforter.
I would brush his hair with streaks of flaxen and
fair mane, leaving a stain on my memory,
of soft rain and revitalizing moisture.
If only,
I had the gift to give away,
I would pray,
that you are such a man,
like a creature of rarity,
customized to my whimsical perfection.
If only I could customize a man
I would build him a smile
as wide as a canyon in mile.
I would create a twinkle in his eye,
then expire, longingly gazing into his stare
and dare to mold him further.
I would embellish him,
with a torso of sculpted clay
if only to convey his goose feather and comforter.
I would brush his hair with streaks of flaxen and
fair mane, leaving a stain on my memory,
of soft rain and revitalizing moisture.
If only,
I had the gift to give away,
I would pray,
that you are such a man,
like a creature of rarity,
customized to my whimsical perfection.
2024-07-25
It is a truism not often expressed by people and it's a simple one: ask anyone what they want more of in life and this answer will apply across the board: more of everything. We all want more of life, more of the good things, more good times, and less of the bad, more time off, more of the finest of foods and bobbles and things, more of the best knock-down sex we deserve, more time do all the activities that pull our heart strings, like sports and hobbies, and fooling around with our kids or pets. In short, our brains are pre-programmed with the desire that we should be getting it all, getting enough of everything that is available.
Read More
Read More
2024-07-23
I put one foot in front of the other, when I need to disembark from the bus, to get off. But when I'm in the process of getting off, my feet don't come into the picture. When my libido is pumped up, my feet aren't essential to this process... unless, of course, a lovely masseur with greased-up magic hands rubs my toes with gentleness in such a way that the rest of my body tingles. This too will aid toward the process.
Read More
Read More
2024-07-22
The small obsession grows
into a coincidence at first.
The other woman hardly seems there
for but a brief second.
Of a feel, a taste soon fading
in the curtain lines hanging,
she notices how quietly,
he dresses.
Seated upright on the bed
with his back to her face.
She waits for him,
to turn his cheek and connect.
But his eyes are drawn,
away from her.
Because his heart is still,
caught in the cloth of unrequited love.
into a coincidence at first.
The other woman hardly seems there
for but a brief second.
Of a feel, a taste soon fading
in the curtain lines hanging,
she notices how quietly,
he dresses.
Seated upright on the bed
with his back to her face.
She waits for him,
to turn his cheek and connect.
But his eyes are drawn,
away from her.
Because his heart is still,
caught in the cloth of unrequited love.
2024-07-18
When your brain runs on the fuel of imagination, it feels like the wheels never stop turning. It's high time that I blog a series and call it 'Getting', as in Getting On, Getting Off, Getting Enough and Getting Along" so here's the first installment.
"Getting on in years," is an expression that we easily and casually trot out when we're referring to our pets and cars and sometimes our grandparents or worse our better half. Tsk. Tsk. I'm guilty of having used this expression myself more than once during those years when I'd refer to my mature kitties after they had surpassed that magical timeline of 10+ years, which for felines is a big deal. My female kitty lived for 14 years and my male for 16 years.
Read More
"Getting on in years," is an expression that we easily and casually trot out when we're referring to our pets and cars and sometimes our grandparents or worse our better half. Tsk. Tsk. I'm guilty of having used this expression myself more than once during those years when I'd refer to my mature kitties after they had surpassed that magical timeline of 10+ years, which for felines is a big deal. My female kitty lived for 14 years and my male for 16 years.
Read More
2024-07-16
As I walked in the downtown core in the city I adore, Ottawa, I was drawn to a poster taped to a pole at one intersection - a large, brightly coloured poster that stated Wanted for the Destruction of the Planet , specifically referencing our current Prime Minister, to include one Cabinet Minister, whom some might be inspired to call a henchman. This got me to thinking about women's rights, Canadian policy and how it impacts us and the effect on the world at large.
Read More
Read More
2024-07-15
Your eyes of danger look to me
like spirals of black and white,
revolving in clockwise swirls
you hypnotize me.
Across the country of my thoughts,
returning to the evening
of this grand night, I bid you farewell
to you and flesh gesturing.
Now in my morning bed,
I feed you strawberries and breast.
And tastes of sours and sweets
explode in your mouth, when I sit.
COPYRIGHT © Patricia K McCarthy
like spirals of black and white,
revolving in clockwise swirls
you hypnotize me.
Across the country of my thoughts,
returning to the evening
of this grand night, I bid you farewell
to you and flesh gesturing.
Now in my morning bed,
I feed you strawberries and breast.
And tastes of sours and sweets
explode in your mouth, when I sit.
COPYRIGHT © Patricia K McCarthy
2024-07-11
Friends are not a dime a dozen. Friends are precious and far and few between and the ones in between are at times like a light switch, turning on and off when it suits their fancy. We've all experienced periods when our friends are preoccupied with their lives, that they have very little time to spare for anyone else but their immediate needs, such as work, family and the biggie of them all, that entity that causes more emotional stress than anything... yes, THE RELATIONSHIP! (And same applies to ourselves as well, right? That we too are often given to distractions in life).
Read More
Read More
2024-07-09
Luck is one of those nebulous words that has a wide range of implications. What one person feels is lucky another might construe as happenstance. Luck is not there for everyone because if you were to ponder the situation on a global level, those born and forced to live out their lives in developing countries could hardly be considered lucky, when compared to the opulence of some European and Arab countries, to include the wealth of North America. We regard luck as a facet of our personalities, based on our life experiences and whether or not luck has been our friend or our foe.
Read More
Read More
2024-07-08
Spill blood
for what, for whom, I ask?
Spill my heart of it all
for a simple life.
I wish,
with the man of my want, I will,
unravel his secret smiles and shrugs.
How beautiful are his kept lies.
When he charms me
will he be in me, on me
heating my lap where he paws me.
What heaven is he.
for what, for whom, I ask?
Spill my heart of it all
for a simple life.
I wish,
with the man of my want, I will,
unravel his secret smiles and shrugs.
How beautiful are his kept lies.
When he charms me
will he be in me, on me
heating my lap where he paws me.
What heaven is he.
2024-07-04
Yep. I'm one of them, a Picassophile, a hero-worshiper, a hopeless lover of abstract art, a follower... you name it, I've got it, bitten that is by the Picasso bug when I was just a wee lassie of fifteen. When in high school, I wrote my first paper on the profound impact of Cubism on the art world and was totally hooked. Back then in the late seventies, Picasso had been dead less than a decade but I don't believe the posthumous applause has ever ended for this artist.
Read More
Read More
2024-07-02
Empowerment is a desired thing. The act of empowering should be as simple as infusing into your life more power, like will power, the power to spend more money, the power to change your residence or your employer, even the power to change your mind. But I shan't lead you down a garden path and advise that empowering oneself is that simple. Point in fact, the act of empowering often requires the ability to tap into a source of power that isn't readily accessible or made available to one and all. You just can't wake up one morning and declare that you're going to empower yourself across the board, in all facets of your life, to achieve even greater heights.
Read More
Read More
