Tattoos and rotten pumpkins

A lot of people want tattoos, but many fret over the permanence: that they’ll pick something they won’t want to look at after <insert random measure of time here>. You know how you avoid that? Go with something you love.

Five years ago, as is my and many people’s Autumn tradition, I placed several pumpkins and mums in front of my place. I then left them there for way too long, to the point the pumpkins turned into orange sacks of mush and seeds. Once I finally cleaned them up, I paid no mind to the seeds left behind on the dirt. Then, in the Summer, what anyone who knows anything about nature (not me, apparently) could predict, happened:

Pumpkin Vines

Pumpkin vines! How cool is that?

Shortly after, the most gorgeous, wondrous blossoms blossomed!

Pumpkin Blossoms

Pumpkin blossom in the sun

I was hooked by the stunning flowers, and repeated the place pumpkins -> let them rot -> wait for vines and blossoms process until my condo association decided to cover my little patch of dirt with stones. Because rocks are prettier than flowers, I guess.

Still, my love of these late-Summer bloomers remains undeterred. SO, if I can’t watch them grow naturally, why not put one on my arm?

Yes, that’s tattoo logic right there. Don’t analyze it, just accept it 😀

Artwork done by the most-excellent artist Chris Adamek at Immortal Ink in Clinton, NJ.

 

Thanks for reading,

{RDj}

Friday Morning FYI – 2/5/2016

Welcome to your Friday Morning FYI – my chance to share observations/wisdom/rants in short, easily consumed form.

This week’s FYI is about doing things that scare you (not, like, wrestling a bear or something though; that sh!t’s nuts):

The book on which I’m currently working scares the hell out of me. Not because it’s monster/ghost/vampire scary, but because it’s the first thing I’m writing I feel might be beyond me. The MC is so deep and so damaged, and the themes are so relevant and poignant, I’m terrified I can’t do any of it justice.

And that’s kind of awesome, because only doing things at which you’re already good is boring. Except Snowboarding. And bowling. Either snowboarding or bowling when you’re not proficient mostly sucks. I know.

Anyway, yeah. Do things that scare you. Do things you think you can’t do. At worst, you were right. At best, you’ll surprise yourself.


Thanks for reading,

{RDj}

How bad do we want our good guys?

Warning: Strong opinions ahead. And it’s long, too. Strap in.


 

I like my good guys good. Complex and conflicted? Cool. Messed-up history and/or in need of redemption? Want. Going through some terrible transformative sh!t that’ll properly mess them up forever? Gimme. But they still need to be good.

Killing defenseless people, even bad guys, isn’t a good guy trait. Read on to find out where this is coming from.

Continue reading “How bad do we want our good guys?”

Friday Morning FYI – 1/29/2016

Welcome to your Friday Morning FYI – my chance to share observations/wisdom/rants in short, easily consumed form.

This week’s FYI is a personal reminder as much as it is an FYI. I’ve written this kind of thing before, but it sometimes bears rehashing:


People who are not at peace cannot help you find peace, just like someone who doesn’t know how to cook can’t prepare you a meal. Surround yourself with people who can provide what you need, understanding your needs change as you grow. Yes, this means it’s sometimes necessary to move on from people you once thought (and maybe still believe are) important if they’re no longer on your frequency.

 

Thanks for reading,

{RDj}

Friday Morning FYI – 1/22/2016

Welcome to your Friday Morning FYI – my chance to share observations/wisdom/rants in short, easily consumed form.

This week’s FYI is a Copy->Paste from The Writer’s Circle. I normally don’t do that, but this image resonated with me and reminded me of a friend who doesn’t like to refer to herself as an artist despite her talent:

 

Scared Artist Quote

 

Thanks for reading,

{RDj}

PS – Why didn’t any of you gentle souls point out I’d been titling this month’s FYIs as 2015!? I’m looking at you, Tabitha and Amy, my retweeting friends ;).