15 Things About Me That You Never Wanted To Know

January 11, 2017January 10, 2017 ~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! As some of you might know, tomorrow (January 12th) is my birthday. I’ll be 31, or for those of you who have gerascophobia (the fear of aging), it’ll be my third 29th. Birthdays around here are quiet events that usually consist of a nice dinner with friends. This year, the destination is Texas de Brazil! Yummy! I’ll make sure to do a full report on that next week. This week, I thought I would share a list of 15 things about myself that you may or may not already know. I was going to do 31 and make it a whole nod to my age thing, but no one’s that interested in me.

1. My current diagnosis is Ulrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy (UCMD), but it’s not my first. There was Floppy Baby Syndrome, which I was supposed to grow out of. When that didn’t happen, it was Congenital Myopathy. I didn’t grow out of that either, so I was diagnosed with Spinal Muscular Atrophy type 2 (SMA2), which came with a series of death guesstimates that never panned out. That was all by the time I was five. I was 23 or so when they decided SMA2 was definitely wrong and tested for UCMD (a relatively new disease at the time). The doctors swear UCMD is the correct one, though. We’ll see what happens.

2. I like Nickelback. Make fun of me all you want, but they aren’t a bad group. They’re not my favorite or anything, but I never really understood why they’re so hated.

3. I don’t have a favorite TV show. I have shows I love, but if you asked me to pick one I like best, I couldn’t even narrow it down.

4. I’m a firm believer that “growing up” and “acting your age” are scams developed by people who aren’t young at heart. Besides, I’ve never been this age. I don’t know what it’s supposed to be like.

5. My favorite things about the Christmas season (aside from family and joy and all of that) are eggnog and peppermint bark.

6. I’m quietly competitive. I try not to compete with people for things, but when it happens, I will silently plot your overthrow.

7. One of my favorite memories from my time at SMU was when my physics teacher decided to make class grades “public.” There was a spreadsheet on the class website with our grades listed under nicknames. I swapped back and forth with a guy (I overheard the guy tell a classmate his nickname, so I know it wasn’t the other female in class) for top marks as the semester went on, ultimately earning the highest grade. That was the best motivation ever.

8. I started listening to James Blunt and Lifehouse and sappy music in general for a male. I keep listening to it because I’m apparently a big old softy who enjoys that kind of stuff.

2572cb80efb8ba52518cbe588d2c0cf4 — Maybe.

9. I can go weeks or more without talking to people. It doesn’t mean that I don’t like you. And I don’t avoid people very often unless I’ve had too much social interaction (a rare occurrence). I’ll answer you if you message me. I’m just really bad at keeping in touch.

10. My favorite colors are purple and green. My favorite color combination is purple with black and silver. Most people don’t seem to know about the green part. It’s weird.

11. I have to drink booze through a straw. I don’t really understand why this amazes people, but it does.

12. I want to go to Japan some day. There are other places I would like to visit, but Japan will always be at the top of my list.

13. A friend once told me that she loved me because I would tell her the blunt truth and she’d still walk away feeling special, even if I was telling her she was doing something idiotic. She’s not the only one who has said something similar. I guess it’s a weird talent I have.

untitled — Seriously. Don’t do the thing.

14. I don’t read nearly as much as I should. I know writers are expected to read a lot, but I don’t. It’s just not that high on my list of priorities, so I tend to keep putting it off.

15. I’d love to move to the northeast. Somewhere on the water. Closer to my Stonecoast people. I really miss Maine, especially while residency is going on, like right now.

I’ll stop boring you! Feel free to share some facts about yourself in the comments or on my social media pages. See you next week!

Mindless Games and Why I Play Them

January 4, 2017January 3, 2017 ~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Happy new year, everyone! I hope the year has started off pleasantly for you. I’ve just been working on revisions to G&G and relaxing. I have a tendency to play mindless games when I relax. You know the ones. Candy Crush, Diner Dash, Papa’s Pizzeria. Pretty much anything with an alliterative name is bound to be mindless. Match three games or hidden objects games or time management games. The types of games that give you something to do with your hands and pretty images to stare at, but require little to no deep thinking. However, some people don’t really understand why I play them and even pick on me for it (in a funny haha way, not a mean one), so I thought I would explain a little bit.

495-01 — May your year be filled with love and light!

Mindless games are simply a way for me to shut down my brain and stop overthinking things, especially when I’m dwelling on something. They allow me to focus on something mundane and ignore the voices in my head for a while. When I’m upset at life or stuck on a story or whatever, the games help to clear my thoughts. It’s kind of like when you get sucked into a TV show or a movie or a book and everything else fades away for that hour or however long. It’s a way to bring peace into my head, like my own little meditation. When your brain is constantly on high speed over the stupidest things, it’s a really nice feeling to just relax.

candy-crush-rehabilitation-center — I can stop whenever I want. I just don’t want to.

There’s also this weird side effect of mindless games that I don’t get from TV or books: I find solutions to plot problems when I play. With TV and books, I have to focus on their plots and follow along. Mindless games don’t require that much interaction, so my subconscious is free to roam wild. In its roaming, it finds solutions to problems organically. It finds things I would never come up with even after hours or days of plotting. I know a lot of people who have these revelations in the shower, and others who keep dream journals for this type of stuff, but not me. Mindless games are where it’s at for me.

So, laugh at my stupid games all you want, but there’s a method to my madness. Plus, and this is important, I enjoy the games. I like matching games. I like the games that simulate tasks like waiting tables and cooking and all the other stuff I can’t do. It’s fun and stupid and makes me a huge nerd. I fully accept that.

7f861527f5e1ac43c865dc2c4043fe7e — I’m right here!

Do you play any mindless games? How do you go about clearing your mind? Do you find your aha moments in the shower or driving down the road or in your dreams? Thoughts, comments, questions, and everything in between are welcome in the comment section here or on my social media pages.

The New Year Is Coming

December 28, 2016December 27, 2016 ~ shawnaborman ~ 5 Comments

Hello, hello! The new year is almost upon us. Unlike a lot of people I know, I have to say that 2016 wasn’t a bad year for me. Personally, it was a quiet and uneventful year. Yeah, bad and scary things happened in the world, but good things also happened. For example, Spinraza was approved by the FDA as the first therapy for Spinal Muscular Atrophy (which was one of my diagnoses over the years, but I was assured 7 or 8 years ago that I actually have Ullrich Congenital Muscular Dystrophy). Also, a lot of people were lost this year, including icons like Alan Rickman, Gene Wilder, and Carrie Fisher. But we’ve survived. We’re still here to make 2017 a better year. To make ourselves better people.

15726690_10154915430007848_1371003916072326513_n — R.I.P. General Organa

If we want the new year to be better, we have to start with ourselves. Many people make New Year’s Resolutions, which are great if you stick with them, but most of us don’t. A week into January and that resolution to exercise more flies out the window with that first pulled muscle. That resolution to be more positive disappears with the jerk who dents your car in the grocery store parking lot and doesn’t bother leaving a note. It’s hard to change our habits. And that’s okay. But if you really want the year to be better, you’re going to have to make an effort. That’s why I’m making a goal for myself for 2017.

For 2017, instead of trying to change my habits (which is what resolutions usually entail), I’ve decided to pick one area of my life that I want to advance in and create a high (but reachable) goal for myself. Right now, I’m mostly concerned about my career, so my goal is to find an agent by the end of 2017. Hopefully, it won’t take an entire year, but it’s a goal I’m comfortable with. If I were feeling courageous, I might go so far as to make my goal having my first novel published, but that takes time and requires an agent first (okay, so I don’t technically have to have an agent and I could go the whole self-publishing route for those who want to argue those points, but I don’t feel comfortable with those options for myself, so an agent I shall search for).

So, that’s my one big goal for 2017: find an agent.

I simply feel that if we aim to improve one part of our lives at a time (whether it’s our career, personal relationships, health, or whatever) with a concrete and reachable goal, we’ll have a better chance of achieving it and thus improving our year. By all means, make some resolutions or extravagant goals. Aim to change the world if that’s what you’re into, but remember that change starts at home. By improving yourself, you’re improving the world. Don’t let anyone tell you different.

quote-if-you-want-to-change-the-world-first-try-to-improve-and-bring-about-change-within-yourself-dalai-lama-106-25-22 — Exactly.

Do you have any resolutions or goals for the coming year? What area of your life would you most like to advance in during 2017? Leave a comment here or on my social media pages to share your plans for the year.

See you next year!

The One Who Got Away: A Christmas Flash Fiction

December 21, 2016December 20, 2016 ~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! It’s almost Christmas, so I thought I would give you a little flash fiction that I’ve been noodling around with. Feedback is always welcome. This is just something I threw together real quick, so don’t expect perfection. Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!

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The One Who Got Away

By: Shawna Borman

Her voice had the sweet ring of silver bells and wrapped itself around the mind like garland around the tree. It drew people to her. Hanging thick in the chilled December air, her presence lingered long after she disappeared into the night with her prize. It kept the others warm and coming back for another chance. They never noticed that the ones who went with her never came back. At least, that was how the rumors went.

On Christmas Eve, I made the mistake of cutting through the park on my way home from my parents’ party. It was late and I was drunk. Alcohol was the only way I could stand the façade my parents required. I wasn’t who they wanted me to be, so I hid behind suits and ties when I was with them.

According to the legend, she should’ve been gone hours earlier. But there she was, singing to the crowd of men stupid enough to wander into her path. Singing to me. My eggnog-soaked brain vaguely registered the song, I’ll be Home for Christmas. It was a lie. The man she chose wouldn’t go home ever again. My steps faltered, steering me away from my path and right to the front of the group.

Men fell to their knees at her feet, tears streaming down their cheeks as they pled for her to choose them. Her pull was strong. I felt it somewhere deep in my soul, like a star being dragged into orbit. It was something I had never felt for a woman. Disconcerted, I took a step back. The star dimmed and her voice gained a jagged edge, like a broken ornament. I wanted to run, to break away from the group, but my feet remained frozen in place.

She turned her attention to me, causing the star to flare bright once more. I swayed, refusing the urge to sink down in front of her. Her fingers, icy cold, brushed my cheek and trailed down my arm into my palm. Green eyes, like holly, stared up at me. A mischievous smile crossed her poinsettia red lips.

“Let’s go home,” she whispered.

I followed her deeper into the park, down paths I never knew existed, until we came to a house made of snow. A door of bleached white bones stood ajar, exposing the inky blackness inside.

“You must come in and warm me up.” Her skin glittered blue in the silver moonlight. “We can be together forever. What more could a man ask for?”

The word hit me like a thousand reindeer. I was a man to her, to everyone. The suit suddenly felt like wrapping paper, hiding the gift inside me. It was a gift I believed no one would actually want. The tie tightened around my throat, choking me. I tore my hand out of her grasp and clawed the tie away from my neck.

“What’s wrong, my love?” she asked, her voice nothing but shards of broken glass. “Let’s go inside and talk about it.”

Her beauty melted away like snow revealing a muddied mess underneath. The vibrant hue of her eyes drained until all that was left was the same creamy shade of that evening’s nog. I wanted to scream, but only a whimper escaped.

“Get in the house, before you ruin everything, you bastard.”

She grabbed my wrist, pulling me toward the open door. Part of me wanted to let her take me, to let her extinguish the life of the man I was supposed to be. That was when I understood what needed to be done, what I needed to do in order to be happy.

I yanked away once more, shoving her across the threshold. She teetered, as if on the edge of a precipice.

“I’m a woman,” I said out loud for the first time in my life.

With that, she fell and the house collapsed into a pile of snow and human bones.

I left my small town that summer to transition fully into my new life as a woman, but I never heard rumors of the singing woman again.

Accountability: Like Due Dates But Different

December 14, 2016December 13, 2016 ~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Howdy, howdy! I was really having a hard time deciding what to write about when a friend sent me a text thanking me for being the voice in her head asking if she was at least thinking about writing. It gave her the nudge she needed to stop at a place after work and take a little while to have a cup of tea and write some words. She hadn’t written in a while, but she wanted to, so I told her I’d pester her every day or so until she started writing. The second day of pestering and she’s already making time for it. That’s what happens when you’re held accountable for things like this, you make time for them.

castiel — I know, Cas. I know. I’ll go do that.

I don’t know about you, but I always work better with deadlines in place. At school, I could knock a ten page paper out in one night if I had to, as long as the research was done ahead of time. Deadlines meant grades. In the real world, missing deadlines affects the pay from the day job. In other words, deadlines carry the threat of consequences. But what’s going to happen if you don’t finish a novel? Unless you have a contract with a due date, nothing will happen. So, how do writers overcome this lack of a threat and finish things? We hold each other accountable.

In the beginning, I didn’t really understand how holding each other accountable would work. After all, if I don’t push myself to finish something, why would someone judging me for it be motivational? Turns out that guilt is a powerful tool. If I set reasonable goals with people and don’t reach them, I feel guilty. I don’t care if the end of the world pops up, if people know I planned on doing things and failed, it sucks. It also helps that I’m mildly competitive, so failure and losing are not an option. I won’t be the only one to not meet my goals.

According to people I’ve done this whole accountability thing with, it also works by legitimizing their craft, especially when they have jobs. They have trouble taking time out of their schedules to write because they feel like it shouldn’t be a priority even when they secretly (or not so secretly) want it to be. Having someone who will pester them and encourage them gives them an “excuse” to make time for writing.

calvinwriting — You can’t keep waiting when there’s no last minute.

So, even when deadlines aren’t an option, we can still motivate each other by holding each other accountable. We might not receive any real negative consequences if we don’t meet our goals, but we’ll have to live with the shame of disappointing our friends. Who has time for that?

Do you have any friends who pester you about your creative outlet? Does accountability work for you? How? If not, what do you do to stay productive and motivated? Leave a comment here or on my social media pages to share your thoughts!

Until next week!

A Writer’s Tale

December 7, 2016December 5, 2016 ~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! I was at a loss over what to write for today. My usual plea for topic ideas proved unfruitful this time. Then, I realized that I have never shared my journey to writerhood on here. At least I don’t think I have. Feel free to stop reading if you’ve heard this story before.

I’ve always written. Stories, poems, the occasional attempt at a comic strip (but my drawing skills failed me there). I never really wanted to be a professional, though, so I’m a little different from my friends and fellow writers who have wanted to do this forever. My crazy job goal was always a fashion designer, but when I figured out that wasn’t going to happen, I set my sights on more obtainable professions.

southern-methodist-university-beautiful-college-universities — Dallas Hall at SMU. This campus is where my plan tumbled down.

I went through most of my time at college (both community and university) waffling between psychology and English. With psychology, I could help kids like myself. After all, all the psychologists I saw walked into the room and presumed to know how I felt. It never seemed right to me. At least I would appear a little more relatable than they did to me. I also kept returning to English because it was easy and I enjoyed it. In fact, by the time I transferred to SMU (I went in as a Junior), the only degrees I had time to finish were psychology and English.

Since I had a semblance of a plan with psychology, I initially decided to go with that major. It was going well. I passed all my classes with fairly high grades (never less than a B). I really got into abnormal psychology, especially the class that focused on disorders in children. I aced my research class paper. But I still kept taking English classes as well.

2c5377c130a4205d2afe15b420112a517aafe30bee6ac6c260d13f0888601e6b — Try having the debate with yourself. I still secretly prefer APA.

Then, that fateful day came. Dad was walking me to class after a stop at the campus coffee shop and we were talking about majors and what I was planning to do, when he asked the question that shattered my little plan. “How’re you supposed to be a psychologist when you don’t like people?” He was right. I’m not a people person. I don’t like to pry. I’ll offer advice when asked, but beyond that you’re on your own. What kind of psychologist would I be? I could go into research, but I don’t even like that. Thus, I became an English major.

What was I supposed to do with an English major? I had zero desire to teach. So, I took some creative writing courses, found out that I still enjoyed writing, and dipped my toe into the big bad world of writerhood. And that’s how I found myself on a path that would take me to Stonecoast and onto a place where I could live with the voices inside my head without having to worry about people.

How did you decide to pursue the path you’re on? Did you always know you wanted to do it or did it spring itself on you? Tell me your story in the comments or on my social media pages!

Dreamscapes And Stories

November 30, 2016November 29, 2016 ~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Valentina RemenarHowdy, howdy! Did everyone have a nice Thanksgiving? I must admit that I had a lovely day with delicious food and great company. As for today’s post, I wanted to talk a little about dreams and how they influence my writing. Why? Because a couple of friends wanted to know if I remember my dreams and, if so, do they affect my writing in any way. The short answer is: occasionally. The dreams I do remember tend to be boring every day type things (usually just conversations with a random person) or terrifying nightmares that I bury deep down inside my mind. There’s rarely anything between the two. But, it’s the in between that usually become stories themselves.

Most of the time, my dreams fade away as quickly as they come. If I do remember anything, it’s usually unintelligible garbage that I ignore or, if I’m having issues with a particular story and I’m getting desperate, I sift through in the hopes of finding some magical answer. I’ve never had anything happen that’s as fabulous as the image above, but my dreams can still be pretty cool. In other words, while dreams are neat and sometimes helpful, they aren’t an integral part of my writing system.

If I’m lucky, I’ll find an answer to a plot problem if I really focus on a certain part of a dream. The most recent example I have is actually from last night. I was having one of my stupid conversation dreams (I don’t even remember who I was talking to), and the only topic that stuck out to me was a random mention of Medusa. I’ve been trying to figure out how to insert some more hints at demons and monsters early on in G&G, but I was stuck at a part in chapter three that I had no clue how to tweak. A version of Medusa’s powers will actually really help me out there.

In extremely rare instances, I’ll come away from a dream with a story idea. I can actually only think of two off the top of my head. I even wrote a little synopsis of one to help me remember it:

Dream Idea – Nick has no luck with animals. The one pet he had as a kid died, and his mother refused to give details. He constantly feels like he’s being watched, and has nightmares of nothing but blood. Little does he know that two factions of shifters are after him to be their savior. One wants death and destruction, the other wants peace. Which one will win his allegiance?

This was written after a bigger story started formulating in my head. The dream itself was actually just a kid playing outside with a puppy that ended really bad with blood and yelping and sadness. And there were two pairs of glowing eyes in the bushes on either side of the yard. It was weird and creepy and memorable. I got distracted by other stories, though, so I haven’t worked on this one.

5c4f45515821e95d171e43f2f81a6869 — I hope not. My nightmares tend to be recurring.

So, I guess my dreams influence my writing sometimes, but not as much as other things. Daydreams, on the other hand, play a huge role in my writing. But that’s a topic for another time. What about you? Do your dreams influence your creative processes? To what extent? Leave your thoughts and comments here or on my social media pages.

Sweet Tooth: A Top Five List

November 23, 2016November 22, 2016 ~ shawnaborman ~ 2 Comments

Hello, hello! It’s Thanksgiving week! My favorite holiday ever, as if you didn’t know. I hope everyone has a wonderful Thursday and gets to spend time with their loved ones and eats tons of goodies. Also, instead of shopping Thursday night and Friday, I encourage you to stay at home and binge-watch Netflix (Gilmore Girls!) or play games or something fun. Anyway, in keeping with last week’s light and fun food related post, I thought I would devote this one to desserts. This has nothing to do with Thanksgiving per se, it’s just my top five favorite desserts, along with an honorable mention.

1. Creme brulee. If there’s creme brulee on the menu, you can pretty much guess what I’m getting. There’s just something about the creamy goodness underneath the crackly crunchy coating that speaks to my soul. It would take something super weird that I’ve never had before (because I like trying new things even more than I like creme brulee) to beckon me away from this particular dish of delish.

tiramisu_2a_landscape — I’m making myself hungry.

2. Tiramisu. Ladyfingers and chocolate and coffee and creamy marscapone custard deliciousness and (depending on the recipe) booze. What’s not to love? The real question, though, is whether I like tiramisu because I like boozy coffee or if it’s the other way around. I guess we’ll never know.

67aca9f79f5cd1fece296ca0b3a98188 — I may or may not have just drooled on myself.

3. Flan. In the process of making this list, I have just realized that I have a weird attraction to custardy desserts. I have no idea where it came from. I’m not complaining, nor am I apologizing. Flan is special, though. It combines my love of creaminess with my love of caramel sauce, so it gets bonus points for that.

blueberry-crumble-pie-8 — Blueberry crumble pie? Don’t mind if I do.

4. Pie. I admit it. I like pie more than cake. The problem is, I can’t pick just one kind. Blueberry crumble, key lime, peanut butter, chocolate creme, pecan. The list goes on and on. There are a few exceptions, like coconut, pumpkin (yeah, I said it), sweet potato, or anything banana, but otherwise, as long as I’m not allergic to it, I will probably like it in a pie.

red-velvet-cake-with-vanilla-cream-cheese-frosting_ashx_ — It looks so good.

5. Red velvet cake. If we’re talking regular old cake, I lean more toward red velvet. Maybe it’s the color, maybe it’s the cream cheese frosting, it’s just so delicious. I could totally go for a piece right now.

tasteit15159cheescake-1x1quad — I couldn’t not include it.

Honorable Mention. Cheesecake. There’s just no way to make a list of favorite desserts without at least thinking of cheesecake. I’d never turn a slice down even though I may prefer other things.

What about you? What’re your favorite desserts? Is there a particular dessert you’re looking forward to on Thanksgiving? Feel free to share your lists or thoughts here or on my social media pages. Thank you for reading! Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!

See you next week for my 100th post.

Our Thanksgiving Menu

November 16, 2016November 15, 2016 ~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! Since my favorite holiday is right around the corner, I thought I’d share our usual Thanksgiving menu with you. Dad makes a feast and it’s only fair that I share all of the mouthwatering morsels. Plus, we need to start making a shopping list and this will help us remember what to add. Who said a blog couldn’t act as a handy-dandy reminder? So, in no particular order of deliciousness, our Thanksgiving spread includes:

thanksgiving-day

1. Turkey, of course. Dad’s kind of a traditionalist when it comes to the bird. It’s stuffed and roasted. When I was a kid and we had 30+ people over, I vaguely remember the occasional backup ham, but we always have the turkey.

2. Stuffing. I know we’re in Texas and that cornbread stuffing is like the law here, but that’s not what Dad makes. He does an Italian stuffing with sausage and other things. I fully admit that it’s my favorite part of the meal.

3. Mashed potatoes. This has morphed a little over the years from a traditional dish to something more flavorful. There’s usually garlic and other things involved. It’s another favorite.

4. Mashed sweet potatoes. Originally, we had the whole candied yams dish with the marshmallows and all that, but Dad found a recipe a while back for a mashed version with nuts and brown sugar. I’m not the biggest fan of sweet potatoes, but the mashed version seems to go over well with other people.

sweet-potatoes-are-way-better-then-asshole-onions-114762 — And then you murder them and eat their insides.

5. Green bean casserole. Every year, Dad tweaks something or adds something new. Last year, he went from the old recipe pretty much everyone does to a fresh version we saw on Good Eats. It was tasty and pretty easy to make.

6. Corn pudding. This is actually a fairly recent addition (within the last five years). It replaced the canned corn that we always forgot to put out. As far as I know, Dad still tweaks this one.

7. Spinach casserole. We’ve had this one for as long as I can remember, but I only started eating it within the last ten years. It never seems to change.

8. Stuffed mushrooms. These are one of our usual appetizers. Italian sausage stuffing and lots of cheese. Everyone loves them.

9. Deviled eggs. The other usual appetizer. And I just feel the need to point out that Dad always remembers that I’m not big on the paprika sprinkled on top, so he makes half without it. I’m very loved.

10. Cranberry chutney. This seems to change every year. Last year, Dad found a recipe without apples, so I could eat it. This is served alongside the jellied cranberry sauce, because why not?

I feel like I’m probably missing something, but I can’t think of anything. Dessert is left up to our guests. What does your Thanksgiving feast include? Are you the chef or a guest? Do you have any traditions you’d like to share? Feel free to share it all in a comment on here or on any of my social media pages!

How To Survive The First Few Days After An Election

November 9, 2016November 8, 2016 ~ shawnaborman ~ Leave a comment

Hello, hello! By the time this post gets published, America will have a new president (or at least be in the final stages of deciding). If you’re anything like me, you didn’t like any of the candidates and you’re beyond tired of hearing about them and seeing their faces splashed all over your social media sites. But today, and for the foreseeable future, you’ll only have to deal with one of them. That means for the rest of the week (until something else distracts everyone), your social media will be full of the winner’s supporters bragging and the loser’s supporters complaining (because there’s no such thing as a graceful win or loss in this election). So, how are we, the ones with nothing important to say on the matter, supposed to survive until the next big thing comes along to distract everyone? Here are three handy tips to help you keep your sanity.

informed-sanity — That’s what I’ve been struggling with myself.

1. Snuggle up with Netflix or your DVR/TiVo or a book, etc. I’m not going to tell you to avoid social media altogether, but make sure you temper your exposure with healthy doses of entertainment. Netflix has the advantage of avoiding all things annoying simply by clicking play. Or just read a book if you prefer something besides screen time. If you want to watch TV or the news, do yourself a favor and record it, that way you can skip through the things you want to avoid while keeping up with everything else. You can do the same with a newspaper or magazine. There are ways to stay informed without being over-exposed to certain things.

good-guy-netflix-meme-2 — Watch another episode! Don’t be a quitter.

2. Do all the things! You know that stuff you’re supposed to be doing when you’re scrolling through Facebook? Now is the perfect time to do all of it. Do the laundry. Clean the kitchen. Catch up on your NaNo writing. You can be productive and avoid the post-election uproar all at once. Truth be told, I’m actually avoiding the last of the pre-election voter smugness (I’m happy you’re happy you voted, don’t get me wrong, but some people take it too far when they think it makes them and their candidate of choice superior) by writing this post.

3. Surround yourself with cute animals. There’s never a wrong time to look at cute little animals. If you’re into cat videos, the Internet is rife with them. Dogs are everywhere too. You can find bats and birds and even adorable snakes. It’s all just a search away. Who can stay annoyed when looking at those kawaii wittle faces. Even I get happy when faced with the cuteness of doom.

a9png20_700b — It’s a Dapper Danger Noodle!

111 — Look at those big eyes! Batties are adorable!

I’m sure there are other ways to maintain your sanity over the next few days, but this is what I will be doing. Do you have any plans or tips for avoiding the insanity of it all? I suppose being a recluse is the most helpful thing during these times. Stay safe and sane.

See you next week.

Shawna's Blog of Doom

Maybe just randomness