A True Story: This Could Happen to You!

“This is my new roaming number, my old number was blocked. How are you?” A text roused me from sleep. It was from my daughter.

“Michelle? How are you?” I texted back.

“Yes, it’s me. I'm fine, how’s everyone?”

“We’re good. Will you be coming home?” I excitedly queried.

“Not sure yet, by the way, someone would like to buy prepaid cards here, and they’ll pay in cash.”

“I’m at work now, will try to send later, love you.”

“I need 6 pieces smart 500 and 8 pieces globe 500. I would sell them for 900 each. Love you," came the quick reply.

I calculated this roughly in my mind, and it was around 7,000. I would have to withdraw from my ATM. The added earnings though, would help a lot with the Christmas
Noche Buena. It was quick and easy money.

I forgot all about it during the course of the day but at around 3:30 pm, my cell phone sounded off again. “Were you able to buy? I will have to sell them today, they might buy somewhere else.”

“Okay, I’ll attend to it as soon as I get off from work.”

After 5, I went home and remembered my crops at Farmville, so I first harvested my sunflowers. I had several perfect bunches and I was thrilled by the thought of buying my own villa before Christmas.

My cell phone beeped again: “I’m still waiting.”

Startled out of my “profound perusal” of my harvests at Farmville, I jumped to my feet and thought how irresponsible I was.

“Jenny, kindly withdraw from my ATM and buy these,” I wrote down the items on a piece of paper.

When Jenny left, the cell beeped again. “How many were you able to buy?” I peered at the text in the approaching dusk.

My hypothalamus was triggered by a stimulus I could not put a finger to. My hands stopped momentarily typing my reply. What the_???

My daughter never pressured me like that, and she had always teased me “old woman”, and would address me mom, at least once or twice, in a 6 message-text. But these texts, never said “mom” even once. Perhaps, it was the hubby texting? I reasoned out. But even then…

I deleted what I was typing, and typed this instead:

“Anak, I’ll be sending a package to your Auntie Mary in the US and I forgot the address. Do you have it?” I pressed send.

My daughter knew that address, so she should not have any problem providing it.

But I received a different reply: “I’m fine, don’t worry.”

She/he did not reply because he/she did not know the address. My heart did a double flip as I haphazardly put aside the lappy and dialed Jenny's number, but I heard her cell phone ringing in the other room. She didn’t bring it!

I didn’t bother to change; I went out in my house clothes and searched for Jenny in the neighboring area. I might not be able to return the cards. What would I do with all of them? I may be able to sell them, but it would take time.

To my dismay, Jenny had bought the cards already.

"We have to return it," I said.

We were lucky the salesperson was kind and had understood our predicament. He returned the money.

I breathed a sigh of relief. Whew! I'm not filthy rich to give out money just like that. I was almost duped out of my cash because I wanted MORE money.lol… Greed is indeed a potential, source of misjudgment.

I thank my lucky stars; I still have my Christmas money intact! Thanks to Farmville, I have been "waylaid" (so to speak). lol.

What about you, did this ever happen to you? Do share similar stories to "inform" our readers.

Merry Christmas in advance!

FREE PICTURES: Rivers

Nature is a beauty to behold!



Photos courtesy of TashaBud

An Immortal Relationship : Friendship

By: Krishna


My Friend when I think of you.
I think of all that we've been through.


I remember that most of the times we argued and fought, ( like kids)
in spite of knowing deep inside that it wasn't right.


We both then felt bad, and in a lot of pain.
It felt like we have fallen from the sky like the rain.


I love you dear friend with all of my heart.
But now that you're gone I've fallen apart.


(I now feel that my friend is no more like she was)

I'm getting better as the days go by.
I wish sometimes this was all a big lie.


I pray to you every night.
It's like you're my fire, a burning light.


My dear friend, I miss you a lot.
I still wonder why you were put in that spot.


I know you're in a place much better than here.
Watching and helping me with all of my fear.

Our friendship, my dear friend, we will have to the end.
Friends till the end is what we will be.

Someday we'll be together, together you and me.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR


Krishna is the author of Krishna's Musings. He is a public servant in India (meaning - a person of "position"), who has very little time to compose or even update his blog because of his dedication to his work. But today, I'm lucky to have him here as a guest writer.

He composed this poem within 5 minutes (can you beat that?), and I would like to present it as raw as possible so you could see the brilliance in its simplicity. Sometimes, simplicity is beauty.

He had been a true and trusted friend for 4 years now.

Thanks Krish, for this wonderful poem of friendship.

Crafting Poetry

By: HOLLY JAHANGIRI


If you write poetry only for your own personal pleasure--as a way of recording your inner emotions, as therapy, as journaling technique--then please read no further. There is nothing at all wrong with that, and no one can tell you the "right" way to do it. You might, however, want to invest in a good lock for your diary.

If you have a fragile soul or a delicate ego, and you're going to bleed tears at the mere thought of your poems suffering rejection, please don't read this. Even great poets suffer rejection; most have enough rejection slips to wallpaper a small house. They toil in relative obscurity, recognizing that their passion is also hard work. Great poets don't let a little rejection stand in their way.

If you are serious about the art and craft of writing poetry, and hope some day to see your poems in print, then read on. You can, of course, circumvent the whole process and write me off as a crackpot - just go post your poems at Poetry.com and believe those nice folks when they tell you that you are one of the most promising poets to emerge in this decade. Shell out fifty bucks for the beautifully-bound coffee-table anthology and bask in your own glory. Pat yourself on the back, for you have arrived.

Still with me here? Good. Before you begin to write, let me strongly recommend that you not only devour a smorgasbord of great poetry, but that you have handy a good, unabridged rhyming dictionary such as The Complete Rhyming Dictionary: Including the Poet's Craftbook, Clement Wood (Editor), Revised by Ronald J. Bogus (Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, 1992; ISBN: 0440212057). This book is not just a rhyming dictionary; it contains valuable and digestible tips for crafting poems that have wide appeal and are a pleasure to read.

Is Poetry a Dead Language? Basic Do's and Don'ts for Today's Poet

Write in your own natural voice, using fresh language that speaks--or sings--to today's readers. Avoid archaic, outdated, or overly academic words. Run from weird, "poetical" contractions and mechanisms, such as "ne'er" or "ere" or "'gainst" - that is the mark of an amateur, desperately forcing language to conform to an unnatural meter or rhyme scheme. If you attempt to imitate Shakespeare (or anyone else, for that matter), you will sound ridiculous and your poems will appear contrived.

Remember that you are writing for others. If your poetry is full of poignant, sentimental thoughts, does it have universal appeal? Can your readers relate? Poetry that is too deeply personal, too full of "I" and replete with introspection, is generally not marketable poetry. If you are struggling with this, try eliminating the pronoun "I." Try stepping out of yourself; tell the tale as if lived by another, and see what happens. Imagine yourself as the uninvolved reader--what would it take to yank on your heartstrings or ignite your imagination to engage you fully in the poem?

Use words that appeal to and arouse strong emotions. Use words that invoke visual images. Compare the impact of "the night air, filled with the seduction of white ginger" to "the night air, filled with the scent of flowers". Avoid abstractions, such as "truth," "beauty," "freedom," "love," and so on. Be specific. Play with metaphor and simile, always being careful to avoid using allusions that have been done to death by others. How original is your poem if you write that something is as "red as a rose," or "white as snow"? How much emotion will that arouse? Pleasure, in reading poetry, comes from the unexpected. Let's see, "orange as the juicy center of a nectarine" or "black as slush" or "gray as snizzle" might work.

Play with words, but don't mangle or invert them to force-fit a rhyme scheme or metric pattern. Phrases such as "hit he him" are just glaringly distracting and unnecessary. Rework the whole idea, if necessary--choose new words, or choose a whole new rhyme scheme or metric pattern. Sometimes you've just got to let go. When you do, set it aside for a bit and trust that the words will flow again.

In Form, There is Freedom

Learn the basic fixed forms of poetry: the Sonnet, the Sestina, the Triolet, the Rondel, the Ballade, the Limerick, the Chain-Rhyme, the Haiku, the Tanka, and so on. Learning to write within the structural framework of the fixed forms gives you discipline and practice, and prepares you to invent your own rules and framework. I will be the first to admit that I don't fully understand the concepts of "blank verse" and "free verse," and cannot recall reading any that I enjoyed. Although that is a matter of personal taste, I still urge you to study formal verse and master several forms before flying without a net.

Poetry: Therapy or Art?

Ever read a poem that left you speechless? I mean, how can you comment on the utter turmoil of a human soul? When someone is laying their raw emotions out on the dock to dry, do you step over their supine form and say, "Gee, the meter's a little off, and 'angst' doesn't rhyme with 'dagger,' what the hell were you thinking?!" 'Cause you probably don't really want to know, and there are better ways to ask for a lesson in free verse. This is what I call...

Bleeding on the Page
by Holly Jahangiri

Teardrops of blue-black ink fall to the page.
Souls bleed in fourteen lines of tortured verse,
That limps along, five-footed, filled with rage.
What angst! How could it possibly get worse?
But worse it gets - for he's compelled to share,
As literature, the sorrow and the pain.
This solitary madness must ensnare
And captivate, and drive us all insane.
Oh, certainly to this we can relate -
Soul-sucking torment's siren call.
Let's just give in to cruel whims of fate,
Then, pen a poem! Entertain us all!
The poet shares the anguish in his heart;
Some turn away, but others call it art.


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Holly Jahangiri is the author of the blog "It's All a Matter of Perspective". She is a professional writer, with 4 books to her name: Trockle, Dealing With the Demon and nine other stories , Mood Swings (A Collection of Poems), and her most recently released book - A Puppy, Not a Guppy.


I find Holly to be a head strong woman, who says what's in her mind candidly but is also a caring and loving friend. She's one of the bloggers that I respect a lot. Thanks, Holly for this guest post. Mabuhay ka!

Terminus

Spare me the pains of the billowing dust,
in the shadows of the glorious dusk.
Don't sing me songs of adieu
in whispers, that I barely knew.

Rest and let go of the garbled breath,
that wracks your tattered body.
Let go, my love, of the thread
that leads to turmoil and misery.

Go, move on to the sunshine of joy,
and suffer no more my sweet.
gnarled fingers and wrinkles are done now,
and time for your restful sleep.

Don't worry, for in time, I will be,
with you in the folds of your dreams.
Where nothing matters but you and me,
and together we will always be.

...until the end of time.


Hello dear readers, may I request your participation? I know this is a simple poem to interpret, but I'm interested to know if anyone could tell me the specific scenario in this poem. Am I getting through?

Thanks. Anyone who could interpret it correctly will have sizzling sisig waiting for her/him, here in Pampanga. lol, so to claim your prize, you will have to visit me and Roy first.

Bookshop and Reading

Ask any writer what his hobbies are and one would always be reading. I have never come across a writer who is not a voracious reader. This is because books are vital sources of information and knowledge. They keep us abreast of things we should know. We could travel the world through books. We could learn anything from books: from sewing, to blogging, to carpentry, to physics, to chemistry and many more. Reading would always be a major part of our continuing education.


Even if you’re not a writer, reading books is one hobby that is definitely worth pursuing because of its many positive outcomes. A bookshop therefore, should be one of the places that a person should visit when shopping offline or online.

I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the prices of these books on a bookshop online. They’re so cheap yet, very good reads, and there are several options to choose from. There are college ebook and ebook gadgets, fiction and non-fiction, novels and children’s books. There are even audio books. Name it, and they’ll most likely have them.

I had promised myself I’ll be going back to reading again one book within a month. I used to read 1 or 2 books within a week, but blogging and my regular daytime job are just too much to handle. But I’ll surely fulfill this goal from now on.

WOOF Contest – Top Picks for November 6, 2009

Congratulations Doc Z, for having two of your entries in the Top 3.

WOOF Contest – Top Picks

Poetry

Zorlone – “No Call to Counter Strike” - A poem inspired by the fall of Gondolin.

Jena Isle – “My Painful Past” - What is more excruciating than remembering a painful past?

Fiction

Zorlone – “Diary of a Broken Heart” - A glimpse of an entry in a diary of a man, who once found the love of his life.

Brought to you by PlotDog Press with the Serial Suspense Screenplay "Intervention"

(WOOF participants should re-post all the links above by next Monday. The following links may be excluded as long as you include all the above links.)

Presenting the finest of the writer’s blogs by the bloggers who write them. Highlighting the top posts as chosen by the October 30, 2009 WOOF Contest participants. Want in to join the next WOOF? The next contest ends November 6. Submit a link to your best writing post of the last 3 weeks using the form on this page. Participants, repost the winning link list within a week and you’re all set.

Other WOOF Contestants for 11/06/09

Poetry

Jennifer M Scott – “Myriad” - Free form of thought.

dragon blogger – “Reunited” - Poem about wanted to be reunited with a lost love.