Category — Microblog Mondays

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

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I am reading Lev Grossman’s The Magicians, and I have to read it slowly because it sort of hurts my heart.  I want it to be true.  I want there to really be a magic college called Brakebills.  And I want to go to Brakebills.  And I want to meet Quentin.  And I just really really really want to be there so badly that sometimes I need to put the book down and curl up in a ball and wish instead of read.

The last time I felt this way was with Harry Potter.  And before that, Life of Pi. (I didn’t actually care if the rest of the book came true, but I desperately wanted to see the island with the meerkats, and it hurt my heart to not be able to go to the island of the meerkats.)

So what good book have you read lately?  Something so good that it affected your whole mood?

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Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts that are connected to businesses or are sponsored posts.

So I’m obviously a complete and utter liar since I said that I would never remind you about #MicroblogMondays again, but really, if you want to blame someone, blame Loribeth because she is the one who sent me this brilliant article.

If you’re not going to click over and read it, it basically says that people who write, even a small amount, reap health benefits.

No matter the quality of your prose, the act of writing itself leads to strong physical and mental health benefits, like long-term improvements in mood, stress levels and depressive symptoms. In a 2005 study on the emotional and physical health benefits of expressive writing, researchers found that just 15 to 20 minutes of writing three to five times over the course of the four-month study was enough to make a difference.

I am guessing when they talk about writing for 15 minutes, they do not mean throwing out flippant Facebook status updates.  They’re talking about a blog post.  Even a microblog post.

One study found that blogging might trigger dopamine release, similar to the effect from running or listening to music.

So… yeah… it matters to me that you do this.  Not just because I’m a selfish bastard who now looks forward to Mondays because I know I have a solid block of posts to read (vs. the weekends when my feed reader is bare, bare, bare).  I want you to do this because it could impact your overall health and emotional well-being.

Writing could very well save your life.

Tomorrow marks the fourth #MicroblogMonday, and hopefully, by now, it is becoming a habit. (Because I swear, one day I will stop writing these reminder posts!)  Thank you for participating and giving us a tiny glimpse into your world. Even if you don’t accomplish another post this week, you at least know that you got up one. And you did it before the week really began.

So at some point between Monday morning and Tuesday morning, post a brief update. It can be as short as 1 word (“blech!”) or as long as 8 sentences.  Actually don’t get hung up on the length. Micro just means small. Anything you’d post on Twitter or Facebook, or an image you’d post on Instagram… that’s all this is.

So… see you tomorrow with your mini post.

And in the meantime, do you feel different emotionally on the days you write vs. the days you don’t write?

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

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We watch Doctor Who every Saturday night, and Sunday morning, I go on the blogs and see what other people thought of the episode.  I tend to read other people who love the show as much as I do.

Last week, I ventured into the comments on a post, which was a mistake.  The people were tearing apart the episode, pointing out what they thought were unrealistic aspects of the plot.  (Uh… do these people realize that Time Lords don’t exist?  And the Tardis isn’t real?  Fiiiiiiiiiiiction.)

I don’t want to pick Doctor Who apart.  For me, the show is successful simply because it makes me happy.  Doctor Who makes me happy for a full hour.  To me, that is the mark of success: did you change one person’s mood for the better?  Yes?  Then your creation is a success.

So rather than complain about something, tell me what makes you happy?

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Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts that are connected to businesses or are sponsored posts.

This week’s list is closed.  But come back next Monday for a new list:

I recently downloaded an app that gives me 17 options for wave sounds.  I can listen to water slapping against stones or waves crashing on the sand.  I prefer one called “waves and froth” partially because it’s the most relaxing, beach-y sound and partially because of the commentary Josh makes about froth.

So, I’ve been playing this app sometimes to help me fall asleep.  It definitely works.  The nights I use it, I fall asleep within a half hour or so.  On nights I don’t use it, I can be up for hours.

Still, I don’t use it every night.

You may question the intelligence in that last statement.  I mean, I found something that works.  Why don’t I use it all the time?  And I guess I’m trying to not form a habit and use the waves like a crutch, because I could see myself inadvertently training myself to not be able to sleep sans waves.  And that just isn’t an option — there are too many times I’m sharing a hotel room or camping with other people or not in the privacy of my room.  And I want to be able to sleep during those times, and I fear that I will set myself up to not be able to sleep without white noise and make myself miserable on those occasions.

So I never let myself go three days in a row listening to the waves because I’ve read in multiple places that three times creates a habit.

On the other hand, tomorrow marks the third #MicroblogMonday, and for some people who have done it twice, this third time will hopefully cement a habit.  A weekly Monday appointment for yourself where you kick off the week by giving us a tiny glimpse into your world.  Even if you don’t accomplish another post this week, you at least know that you got up one.  And you did it before the week really began.

This is likely the final reminder you’ll get for the project (three times is a charm?) so go make an appointment on your calendar and set it to run weekly.  Or make a mysterious little “P” every Monday on your wall calendar and leave people guessing as to whether you’re reminding yourself to write a post or noting that you have your period all.the.time.

So, tomorrow is  #MicroblogMonday. At some point between Monday morning and Tuesday morning, post a brief update. It can be as short as 1 word (“blech!”) or as long as 8 sentences.

Actually don’t get hung up on the length. Micro just means small. Anything you’d post on Twitter or Facebook, or an image you’d post on Instagram… that’s all this is.

So… see you tomorrow with your mini post.  And in the meantime, think of other things you want to start and go do them three times.

Not sure what #MicroblogMondays is? Read the inaugural post which explains the idea and how you can participate too.

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I was walking with a woman I barely know when she said, “Did you know that your hair is two colours?”  I nodded.  She continued, “One colour is brown.  And the other is grey.”

“Yes,” I responded.

“Did you know that there is dye that can make all your hair brown?”

“Yes,” I said.  “I know about dye.”

She nodded.  “Some people have two colours in their hair.  Brown and blonde.  But that is not you.  You have brown and grey.”

We don’t really need to debate the rudeness of this exchange.  I’m more commenting on it because I think about the colour of my hair a lot.  There is not one molecule in my body interested in dyeing my hair.  Yet at the same time, every single molecule in my body wants my hair to be back to brown.  My molecules fight a lot.

I would never think like this if it wasn’t conveyed to women my age that we should dye our hair, that is makes us look old or different from our peers if we don’t.

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Are you also doing #MicroblogMondays? Add your link below. The list will be open until Tuesday morning. Link to the post itself, not your blog URL. (Don’t know what that means? Please read the three rules on this post to understand the difference between a permalink to a post and a blog’s main URL.) Only personal blogs can be added to the list. I will remove any posts that are connected to businesses or are sponsored posts.

This week’s list is closed.  But come back next Monday for a new list: