Week in Review: Week 6

ginger FOTD

What kind of a week have you had?

I’ve had a busy week but an uneventful week. I had a lovely day on Monday when I took myself off to Hastings Street for a couple of hours taking photographs. As I have said before it is not somewhere I often go because it is so busy with people however, whenever I do go I love it. You have a shopping experience with the sea at to one side and the river to the other so you can escape the hustle and bustle if you want. I love photographing the clothes shops. In my younger days when I was fashion conscious (or partially) I would have drooled over the clothes. Now it is the bright lights that get me in.

Followed by an ice cream

Then out to the beach. A great surf due to the high winds we’ve had recently.

a quick wander through the woods

then onto the river

before heading back to Hastings Street.

I had a lovely morning. My other activities this week were hum drum appointments which I won’t bore you with.

This week I didn’t meet my goals of three posts in the week. Wednesday just proved impossible. I had back to back meetings and when I did have time – no inspiration. Do you write your posts ahead of time so that you can be sure to have them out on time or do you fly by the seat of your pants? Being deadline driven I tend to wait until the last minute but I am finding it is not working for me like it used to so I am going to have to revise how I do things.

Toastmasters this week was a lot of fun and made me laugh uproariously at times. The meeting was a back to front meeting which meant that we start at the end and work backwards to the beginning. It was a good lesson in listening as the evaluators who evaluated your speech before you gave it gave clues as to how you were to present it and structure. This also meant that although you were prepared you had to be able to ad lib and throw in points that the evaluator had commented on. I gave an educational on spoonerisms and had to present black belly jeans, pirouette and dance at times, give a couple of long pauses and react in a certain overcome manner to something someone said. A chap who zooms in from the Unites States had me in stitches with his three failed fiances. Honestly, if you want to improve your public speaking, become confident with off the cuff, critical listening then you should think about Toastmasters. I always come home on such a high after a meeting and I don’t think I have been to one where I haven’t had at least one laugh.

In response to the prompt for Carrot Ranch 99 word flash fiction. where we’ve been asked to write about anxiety. I’ve been a trifle lazy this week and reworked a piece I wrote years ago to turn it to 99 words: but then isn’t that what a lot of writing is about. Writing then editing, editing, editing and does the editing ever stop?

Janice took some deep breaths, feeling her heart racing in her chest.  Anxiously she spread her arms to the sky. “I can do it” she muttered under her breath although her fear of flying was freezing her as hard and turning her as white as marble. One more deep breath and she dialled the airline to book her ticket. “Breathe” she whispered wondering how, if she was struggling now to control her fear, would she ever get on the plane. 

“You’re booking number is R I P 76543.”

“I’m sorry but you’ll have to cancel the ticket.” Janice stammered

Monday we’ll be looking around where I live – specifically Noosa National Park. Hope to see you then but if not – have a great week.

About Irene Waters 19 Writer Memoirist

I began my working career as a reluctant potato peeler whilst waiting to commence my training as a student nurse. On completion I worked mainly in intensive care/coronary care; finishing my hospital career as clinical nurse educator in intensive care. A life changing period as a resort owner/manager on the island of Tanna in Vanuatu was followed by recovery time as a farmer at Bucca Wauka. Having discovered I was no farmer and vowing never again to own an animal bigger than myself I took on the Barrington General Store. Here we also ran a five star restaurant. Working the shop of a day 7am - 6pm followed by the restaurant until late was surprisingly more stressful than Tanna. On the sale we decided to retire and renovate our house with the help of a builder friend. Now believing we knew everything about building we set to constructing our own house. Just finished a coal mine decided to set up in our backyard. Definitely time to retire we moved to Queensland. I had been writing a manuscript for some time. In the desire to complete this I enrolled in a post grad certificate in creative Industries which I completed 2013. I followed this by doing a Master of Arts by research graduating in 2017. Now I live to write and write to live.
This entry was posted in Australia, Carrot Ranch, creative writing, daily events, flash fiction, Noosa, photography and tagged , , , , , , . Bookmark the permalink.

18 Responses to Week in Review: Week 6

  1. lifelessons says:

    What kind of ice cream was that? It looks like it is shaped like a bird.

    Liked by 1 person

  2. Your morning out sounds delightful.

    Liked by 1 person

  3. Cee Neuner says:

    I love your 99 word story. I think I might have cancelled that flight too.
    In answer to your question, I rarely plan my post in advance. But then I’m not a writer. I just got hundred of thousands of photos to chose from LOL

    Liked by 1 person

  4. noelleg44 says:

    What a perfect day! Some retail therapy, ice cream and two walks by the water. I am green with envy!

    Liked by 1 person

  5. That’s a fine 99! With that kind of anxiety she needs more auspicious numbers to get her off the ground. Still, she really shouldn’t worry about flying. It’s the landings that’ll get you.
    I had a pleasant week too and even managed to creep ahead on some tidying.
    I have never really had blogging goals but I have some writing prompts that I enjoy taking part in so I let those prompts bounce around in my head for a bit and try to come up with a story. I am being more regular lately with posting those responses on certain days, but it’s not a hard fast rule.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks Dee. I was in a plane that crash landed so I know first hand just how much more dangerous the landing is to the flying. All survived but I have never known silence like it before or since.
      good on you for getting to some tidying. It is on my to do list and probably will be for the next few weeks.
      I am finding mine isn’t hard and fast either. LOL.

      Liked by 1 person

  6. I really think the tidying got done because I was supposed to be working on something else.
    Yikes, Irene! I am thankful everyone survived that landing.

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Charli Mills says:

    Ha, ha! Oh, I love your dark humor, Irene. I like to fly but I think I’d feel anxious too with RIP call letters on my ticket. I don’t know if you remember the in-flight emergency I had years ago. It was so strange because the plane flew so smoothly, but the de-icing equipment failed and we had to keep flying until we reached a warming climate to land without crashing the plane. Then we bussed all the way back to our destination!

    I enjoyed taking a walk with you and peeking into shop window. As for writing, I need a schedule and a rhythm (which is why I changed things up at Carrot Ranch). I like getting a post done a day ahead and even when I think I’m not inspired I push to find it.

    Liked by 1 person

    • Thanks Charli. I do remember and know how it would have felt as had an experience myself with a front wheel that malfunctioned on takeoff. We knew almost from the start we were going to belly land and it was the silence that amazed me. No hysterics at all. The cheer at the end was deafening.
      That is what I would like to do as well Charli. At least a day ahead. At the moment it is a few days behind.

      Like

  8. Pingback: Anxiety Collection « Carrot Ranch Literary Community

Leave a comment