Category: daily prompt

Curling
daily prompt · Rafa Nadal · tennis

Curling

Amy16 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What Olympic sports do you enjoy watching the most?
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Just kidding. Watching curling is like watching paint dry. I don’t watch the Olympics. But since they are being held in Paris this year, I just might start. I recall in years past I watched the Winter Olympics’ skiing and ice-skating competitions, but that was a long time ago, and I was a kid.

Anyone who’s been reading my blog since the beginning knows what I’m going to say I will most likely watch present day: tennis. The Summer Olympics are being held in Paris this year from July 27-August 4, Rafa Nadal is probably playing his last season of professional tennis, and Roland Garros (The French Open) is his jam (he’s not called the King of Clay for nothing), so I am deducing he’s going to aim for the double play: Roland Garros and the Olympics – which will be played on the red clay, the same courts as Roland Garros. There are current rules in place, however, that may be a bit of a hurdle for him to be able to do this. Without getting too complicated, he will have to appeal to the ITF (International Tennis Federation) to be able to be allowed to play in the Olympics. Fingers crossed.

Rafa Nadal hoists La Coupe des Mousquetaires, in his first of 14 French Open victories (to date), 2005
Rafa Nadal won men’s singles gold at the Beijing Olympics, 2008

I suppose you know where I’ll be for Summer Olympics Paris 2024. I will not be in Paris. But I will be watching from my couch at home, wearing a beret, eating croissant and sipping un Café. 

©️2024, itsamyisaid.com, all rights reserved.

Back In The Day
daily prompt · Writing

Back In The Day

Amy9 Comments
Daily writing prompt
How would you improve your community?
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The community that is now filled with people who don’t know each other and don’t care to know each other, used to be one filled with block parties and neighborhood watch patrols. People would come sit on your porch and have a cup of coffee or a beer and chill. Santa Claus came every year on the local fire company’s biggest firetruck. Everyone knew everyone else, and stopping your car to chat with your neighbor was common. No one behind you would honk their horn to hurry you on your way.

Last week I witnessed a minivan with no tags drive around a tow truck into someone else’s front lawn to get past what must’ve been an annoying situation for the minivan. I couldn’t believe what I had seen. Couldn’t the guy have waited a few minutes, or turned around in my driveway and gone around the block? No. Too impatient. About 15 minutes later, he came back and did it again from the opposite direction. Yes, it was all a bit suspect, but without a license plate, I couldn’t call the police. See the other thing, back in the day, neighbors looked out for each other and would call the police or investigate a strange situation if they saw it. They would also look after each other’s houses and pets when one or the other went on vacation.

This doesn’t happen anymore.

I only know a few of the original people in my neighborhood, and the new ones are not from the back in the day mentality. Everyone is huddled inside of their homes, doing whatever. It’s the antithesis of community.

I’d be willing to bring back block parties and neighborhood watches, but the sad truth is one person doesn’t make a community – it takes a group of like-minded people to foster a sense of community.

The question is the answer and the answer is the question. And I don’t think the definition of community will ever be as understood as it was back in the day.

Is That The Alarm? Ew.
daily prompt · Humor

Is That The Alarm? Ew.

Amy15 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What are your morning rituals? What does the first hour of your day look like?
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The first hour of my day depends on what day of the week it is. Mondays look a lot like:

I meant to do that. Once I get up off the ground, I meander with one eye open and several bruises (and maybe some broken bones) to my computer and fire it up. I contemplate Monday, and always come to this conclusion:

After I eat my gummy vitamins, I feel a little bit more awake. It’s usually at about this time that my computer has updated over the weekend and will insist on a restart after I’ve connected to the Internet and have opened all of the apps I need.

On especially chaotic Mondays, which is really all of them, sometimes my Internet will disconnect for no reason at all. And then what happens? You guessed it – another restart.

Some days it happens more than once, and I want to unalive my computer. I don’t, of course (because it’s not alive…or is it?), but I wish I could.

And that brings us to 9 AM – my second hour of work. That’s when things get a little weird and I start to get a bit hungry. I have a small lick of my laptop, and I’m ready for hour two of my day.

Happy Monday everyone!

Everything and Nothing
daily prompt · Humor

Everything and Nothing

Amy13 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What makes you laugh?
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On a bad day, nothing is funny.

But I rarely have a day where it’s so bad that I can’t laugh at something.

Last night, I had a really bizarre dream. it was totally out there, unrelated to anything I had done all day yesterday. I remembered it this morning, which is not common for me. My mind remembered every detail. I can’t say much about this dream because it was really over the top, but I am still laughing about it, and adding my real time commentary as I think about it out loud.

I can find humor in almost anything. It’s one of my coping mechanisms, and I developed it early. It truly is a lifesaver.

Happy Fri-yay everyone.

Been Caught Stealing
daily prompt

Been Caught Stealing

Amy13 Comments
Daily writing prompt
When you were five, what did you want to be when you grew up?
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I don’t remember being five. My house was chaotic and traumatizing. I can only assume I didn’t want to be like my father when I grew up.

I thought of this song for this post – because of a particular lyric, and because it’s a fantastic song:

“Been Caught Stealing“

by Jane’s Addiction

I’ve been caught stealing; 
once when I was 5… 
I enjoy stealing. 
It’s just as simple as that.
Well, it’s just a simple fact. 
When I want something,
I don’t want to pay for it. 

I walk right through the door. 
Walk right through the door. 
Hey all right! If I get by, it’s mine. 
Mine all mine! 

My girl, she’s one too.
She’ll go and get her a skirt. 
Stick it under her shirt. 
She grabbed a razor for me. 
And she did it just like that. 
When she wants something,
She don’t want to pay for it. 

She walk right through the door. 
Walk right through the door.
Hey all right! If I get by, it’s mine.
Mine all mine!

We sat around the pile. 
We sat and laughed. 
We sat and laughed and
Waved it into the air! 
And we did it just like that. 
When we want something,
We don’t want to pay for it.

We walk right through the door. 
Walk right through the door. 
Hey, all right! If I get by, it’s mine,
Mine, mine, mine, mine, mine, mine…

How To Slow Down
Advice · daily prompt

How To Slow Down

Amy32 Comments
Daily writing prompt
What’s something most people don’t understand?
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You don’t always have to drive as fast as possible to get to a destination. Try leaving earlier instead. Keep your temper in check. Nothing is worth rage. If you die tomorrow and you were angry today, will you be angry for eternity? Maybe. I’m not willing to play those odds. If you treat others poorly, whether in business or personal endeavors, expect to be treated the same way at some point in your life/business dealings. Be a good person, help people, and get your face out of your phone. And slow down.