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What? Julia London WORRY?

Apr 19th 2007Karen Hawkins
Karen HawkinsOn Writing!

Tee hee! I know what Julia London’s doing! I know what Julia London’s doing! I know what she’s doing RIGHT THIS SECOND.

She’s ANGSTING.

perils.jpgHer book, THE PERILS OF PURSUING A PRINCE was released this last Tuesday and, as many of you know, the week an author’s book is released is a week of anxiety.

I’ve talked to a lot of my author friends and they all go through one or all of these stages:

First, relief. “FINALLY my book is out there and I can stop thinking about what MIGHT happen and start really worrying about what IS happening.”

Second, concern. “Weren’t my Amazon numbers higher for my last book?”

Third, disassociation. “You know, this writing gig isn’t the perfect job, anyway. If my book tanks, I could always go for my dream job … WalMart Greeter. All the glam, none of the responsibility. All that AND a discount!”

Fourth (as actual sale figures pour in and you realize your baby is selling like wildfire), satisfaction. “I knew this was a good book. I knew it when I was writing it! I was never worried.”

worry.jpgYup, that’s what Julia London is doing right now. And it’s a good thing it’s her, too, and not me, because I get a little … well, ‘waspish’ about this time. A little nervous. A little sleepless. A little hard to get along with, if you know what I mean. But then I worry all of the time and not just on release weeks.

What do I worry about? War. Famine. Poverty. Whether or not my next door neighbor, whom I’ve never gotten up the nerve to go meet, hates me or not. If I look fat in these jeans. What if I owe more taxes? Does my daughter need braces? LOCUSTS!

I’d be a professional worrier, but I’m worried it won’t pay enough.

Julia, though, handles stress much better than I do. She cracks lots of jokes, laughs a lot, buys lots of shoes and hangs out in Target. Funny how different people handle stress differently ….

What about you? Have you had a ‘worrying’ moment lately? How do you handle stress when it hits you? Do you wake up in a cold sweat in the middle of the night? Or do you pop bon bons like pills and tell off-color jokes? Are you the Queen of Cool or a Servant of Snappiness? How do you handle stress?

What about you?

66 Comments »

66 Responses to “What? Julia London WORRY?”

  1. Susan K on 19 Apr 2007 at 10:28 am #

    Oh I’ve been worrying! I worried that the city never got my check for the taxes even though I mailed them a month ago. (They cashed it the 17th!) Then I started worrying about paying my credit card bill since I decided to go on a shopping spree two weekends ago. Then I started worrying about how I’m going to pay for my new prescription sunglasses and new lenses for my glasses at Lenscrafters. Then I started worrying about being able to afford the new apartment my fiance and I want to move into. Then I started worrying about this Saturday and whether or not my bridesmaids are going to be difficult over the bridesmaids dresses. And everyday I worry about HOW THE HECK I’M GOING TO PAY FOR THIS WEDDING!!!!!

    *sigh* And that’s just this week.

  2. Susan K on 19 Apr 2007 at 10:29 am #

    Oh and my cure for handling stress. Bury myself in a book and forget about it for a while. It works everytime.

  3. anneriailin on 19 Apr 2007 at 10:30 am #

    I come from a long line or worriers. Are there people out there that truly don’t worry?? Really?? I worry about practically everything. My kids. My car. My job and if I’m secure in it for a couple of more years. Did I leave it iron on? Do I have enough deodorant to get me through the week? You name, I worry about it. What worries me most though is if there will be enough chocolate to get me through all the worrying!! Now THAT would be a problem to worry about!!

    –dorothy

  4. Karen Rose on 19 Apr 2007 at 10:38 am #

    LOL, Karen H! I too am a champion worrier. However, I used to make a living out of it, kind of. I was a Quality Assurance Engineer. Now this is different from Quality Control, you have to understand. CONTROL means you’re checking every tenth widget for defects, etc. ASSURANCE means you put systems in place to make sure the defects don’t happen in the first place.

    Quality Assurace people have to ask - what’s the worst thing that can possibly happen - then plan for the contingencies. It’s a match made in heaven for the champion worrier!! And let’s just say I was dang good at that job, lol.

    Of course, all the really important things - my family, my writing, my house - did I leave the garage door up? - all those things I worry about for FREE.

  5. Kasey on 19 Apr 2007 at 10:38 am #

    I worry, but I try not to let it affect me. I worry about being layed off from my job this summer and how will I obtain a new income. I worry about finals, papers and my thesis. I worry about the fact that I can’t find a decent boyfriend…I am not lucky in love. I handle it well. When the stress gets to be to much, like Susan, I buy a book and lose myself in it for awhile and the worrying stops. Both shopping and reading take my mind of it and when I am shopping for books, well it is like the best of both worlds!

  6. Kasey on 19 Apr 2007 at 10:40 am #

    Althought I have to say Julia has nothing to worry about. I finished her book last night and it was GREAT! Nope, she has nothing to worry about.

  7. Sabrina Jeffries on 19 Apr 2007 at 10:41 am #

    How do I deal with stress? I eat. And if you’ve ever seen me in person, you know that this strategy is not working. Sigh.

    So now I’m trying to lose weight. BTW, anyone who tells you that exercising is a great stress reducer is trying to sell you a treadmill. Just saying.

    :-)

  8. SuzyQ on 19 Apr 2007 at 10:47 am #

    I don’t have time to worry. If I worried about everything on my plate I would end up in the loony-bin! LOL!

  9. Karen Hawkins on 19 Apr 2007 at 10:49 am #

    Kasey, PERILS was great, wasn’t it? I told myself I wasn’t going to read it, but I did. Now I’m off schedule, but I had such a great time reading the book and now I’m feeling more creative myself, so … I’m telling myself not to worry about my deadline, as my creativity was nourished by stopping to read the book.

    That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.

    Susan K, getting married is VERY stressful! Be sure you take the time to read lots of books and ask for help if you get overwhelmed. Just remember — WE WANT PICTURES when it’s all said and done. Deal?

    Dorothy, don’t even SUGGEST that there ‘might not be enough chocolate.” I’m a professional worrier! I can’t handle statements like that! I’m hyperventilating as I write this. Whew!

    Karen Rose, your family is getting a bargain, having you there to worry for free! And with all that training!

    I’m like you guys — reading is the most awesome stress reliever. Thank goodness!

  10. Julia London on 19 Apr 2007 at 11:10 am #

    HAHHAHAAAA…..karen h you have me pegged. But you forgot step 1a: Eat everything that isn’t moving.

    I am such a stress eater! And believe it or not, it took me 40 years to figure that out. But when the stress levels go up, the pie hole is in constant motion.

    And to make it worse, what does that dufus DH do the moment I start leaning toward step 2? Goes to the grocery store and comes back with a box of moon pies! MOON PIES! I never had a chance. I check those numbers obsessively while I munch on moon pies!

    kasey and karen, I am so happy you enjoyed the book!

  11. dbrown3400 on 19 Apr 2007 at 11:18 am #

    I read with some favorite music in the background.

    db

  12. Claudia Dain on 19 Apr 2007 at 11:23 am #

    I am a worrier. Professional grade, paid far below my worth in this capacity.

    I not only have spent a lifetime worrying, I remember vividly every single thing I’ve stressed over, starting with “will I wet my pants before making it to preschool?”

    This is what I am FINALLY starting to figure out: worrying is a waste of time and precious resources, namely, my energy. I don’t have the energy I used to have, say, in preschool. Now, when I worry, I’m using up energy I could be using to do something meaningful, like napping.

  13. KMB25 on 19 Apr 2007 at 11:28 am #

    I am stressed out almost every day of my life. I think that’s part of a musician’s life…will there be another big gig so I can pay rent? How do I afford to……(insert anything, ie, buy clothes, go to the dentist, etc). There are some days I wish I had a really steady job with steady money (and then I wouldn’t get stressed out) but then I realize that I would just stress about something else! I think I inherited these worry-wart tendencies from my mom…but it’s ok :)

    As for PPP…I absolutely LOVED it!! I finished it last night too Karen (I stayed up til midnight…just devouring it!) I too, like Kasey and SusanK, like to immerse myself in a fictional world–it helps me to forget the things I’m worrying about, at least for a little while!

    And julia…I’m so hooked….when’s the next one coming out????? I can’t wait to read it already!!!

    ~Kim

  14. Susan K on 19 Apr 2007 at 11:29 am #

    Karen, It’s a deal on those pictures! We’ll be taking lots!

  15. terrio on 19 Apr 2007 at 11:37 am #

    I worry about some stuff but not too much. I was lucky to inherit the gene everyone in my family has. The laid back gene. Life is most likely going to slap me in the face no matter what I do. Why bother getting worked up about it?

    I do have this weird fear of locking my keys in my truck. I check several times that I have the keys before I finally shut the door. What’s up with that?

    Right now I’m trying not to worry. I’m going in for some surgery tomorrow. Nothing major - just removing and internal organ. *sigh* I am not worried. I am not worried. I am not worried.

    *continues chanting* This will not hurt. This will not hurt. This will not hurt…

    On a good note - I should be getting some great reading done in the next few days. Making note to pick up that Julia London book on my lunch hour…

  16. Kasey on 19 Apr 2007 at 11:45 am #

    I am with Kim, Julia! When does the next one come out? I read the couple page sneak peek for the next book and now I am excited to read it.

  17. Karen Rose on 19 Apr 2007 at 11:50 am #

    Sabrina and Julia - me, too :-( I was doing really well on managing my sweet intake until I got on deadline again. I hope my trainer doesn’t read this. I pinky promised not to eat chocolate to write. Sssshhhh. Don’t anybody tell.

    Moon Pies ooohhhh. I like those too.

  18. Karen Rose on 19 Apr 2007 at 11:51 am #

    And good luck tomorrow, Terrio. Take care of yourself!

  19. Julia London on 19 Apr 2007 at 11:57 am #

    Claudia, that cracks me up — will I wet my pants before I make it pre-school.

    I guess I am not much of a worrier. These things never cross my mind. Its when life comes at me fast that I react with the chocolate and moon pies.

    Kasey and Kim, muwahahaha…it was part of my nefarious plan. Next one is october 23. don’t worry, you’ll get puh-lenty of notice, LOL.

    Terrio! So sorry about the surgery — we will send the gods from Mount Oympus to look out for you!

  20. KMB25 on 19 Apr 2007 at 11:58 am #

    Good Luck tomorrow in surgery Terrio—we’ll be praying for you!!

  21. Karen Hawkins on 19 Apr 2007 at 11:59 am #

    db, music is a great stress reliever, too. Sometimes, when I’m REALLY worried, I’ll put on the old ipod and jam out to some Cake or Bright Eyes and just let the world melt away.

    Sabrina, pulleeeze. Of COURSE exercise is a great stress reliever — for other people. You can’t complain if you’re PANTING FOR AIR, can you?

    Julia London, you eat MOON PIES? Wow. I thought only people from TN eat those. My dad consumes them regularly. Me, I’m not much of a marshmellow gal, but hey, they ARE dipped in chocolate and DO have that graham cracker goodness, so it’s possible I could eat a few if left alone in a room with a box of them.

    Terrio, poor thing! Definitely take Julia’s book. I read it last night and time just fleeeeew by. We’ll keep you in our thoughts and prayers, too!

    Karen Rose, you have a TRAINER? Wow. I want one of those and as soon as I lose some weight, I’m getting one.

  22. Stacy S on 19 Apr 2007 at 12:01 pm #

    I worry about everything. My husband always tells me not to cause whatever happens is gonna happen. It’s a good thing he’s so laid back.

    Julia- finished your book, it was great. Really enjoyed it. Can’t wait for Phoebe’s story next.

  23. SuzyQ on 19 Apr 2007 at 12:08 pm #

    Terrio - good luck with your sugery tomorrow.

  24. SuzyQ on 19 Apr 2007 at 12:08 pm #

    sorry, surgery

  25. Julia London on 19 Apr 2007 at 12:19 pm #

    Thank you, Stacy!

    Karen H — I do not normally, as a rule, eat moon pies. I had no idea they even made them anymore. Leave it to the old man to ferret them out amid all the the tasty items on all the aisles. He lives to torture me? He’s like, “What?” when I demand to know what he is doing with moon pies. Totally clueless.

    Karen R, my sis has a trainer, and now she is totally obsessed. She is getting up at 5 am to go to the gym. I think he’s the devil.

  26. Karen Rose on 19 Apr 2007 at 12:23 pm #

    My trainer is wonderful and my friend. I’m just sick about breaking my promise on the chocolate - or maybe it’s the chocolate making me sick…

    Sigh…

    And not only TN people eat moon pies. I had to cancel my Sam’s membership because I kept buying them by the gross. No pun intended, of course.

  27. Ronlyn on 19 Apr 2007 at 12:45 pm #

    I tease my DH that he worries enough for both of us, so I don’t need to. If ONLY that were true.
    Let’s see, lately it’s been mostly aobut the house. We’re moving. Again. Current landlords, who we’ve only been with for 2 months, SUCK to put it mildly. So, with a baby due in 3 months we decided to cut our ties now. It sucks, but what can you do? So, now, we are looking for a new place. Found a few options and are being told by 2 of them that we’re their top choice and it’s ours if we want it. I want one, DH wants the other….why can’t life ever be easy??
    So, amid my visions of what I’d LIKE to say to current landlords, but will never get the guts to do it, I’m stressing about which house to choose & move into…money of course…I’m flat out in denial that this baby is going to be here in 3 months-I have NOTHING ready. And if it’s covered in chocolate I’m eatting it…then worrying aobut gaining a whole bunch of weight.
    Ugh.

  28. anneriailin on 19 Apr 2007 at 12:46 pm #

    Terrio, so sorry to hear about the surgery. My thoughts will be with you and I’ll light a candle for you!! Think of all that reading you can do though. *sigh*

    –dorothy

  29. TheNightPoet on 19 Apr 2007 at 1:04 pm #

    hehe Karen, you know I’m a worrier. The most recent thing I was worried about was what I got on my tests that I had last week. But I am glad to say, I passed all of them! I got an A on my dance test(that one I wasn’t worried about), a B on my Abnormal Psych. test and a C on my First Amendment test. I’m relieved. lol

    When I’m stressed, I’ll write a poem, read a book, listen to music, or take a walk. I sometimes tend to take my frustration from stress out on other people and then I have to stop myself and take a deep breath. That’s when I go somewhere on my own to give myself a little peace of mind. :) I’m in between Queen of Cool and Servant of Snappiness sometimes, other times I’m really snappy. I think it just depends on how badly I’m stressed.

    Andrea

  30. terrio on 19 Apr 2007 at 1:45 pm #

    Thanks for the good wishes everyone. It’s pretty routine and I’ll feel much better afterwards. Well, pretty soon afterwards anyway…

    Karen H - You must be thinking of Goobers. I don’t think I ever saw those anywhere until I moved to Nashville many years ago. I think both Moon Pies and Goobers are pretty much southern snacks.

    And I probably should worry more since when I worry I DON’T eat. Now if I’m just bored, that’s another story. Or if it’s chocolate. I’m a chocoholic. I’ve had that dang cake mix in my cupboard for months but I can never make it because everytime I buy frosting I just eat it with a spoon. That would explain the tightness of my jeans I suppose….*rolls eyes*

  31. Claudia Dain on 19 Apr 2007 at 2:24 pm #

    Julia, I am so jazzed to read all these great reviews of PPP since I’m bringing it and HHD on the plane with me tomorrow as I fly to London. Whooppee! Totally excited, naturally, but long plane rides are never the fun part of any trip, so taking along guaranteed page-turners is going to make it all so easy! Thanks, Julia, in advance for a great read.

    Terrio, you take care tomorrow and good for you for not worrying. It’s bad for the health, so you’re already a leap ahead.

  32. Julia London on 19 Apr 2007 at 2:26 pm #

    And thank you, Claudia, for flashing them around to all your fellow passengers!

    (I’m so nosey on a plane–I try and see what everyone is reading. Do you?)

    Have a fabulous trip, Claudia!

  33. gannon on 19 Apr 2007 at 2:27 pm #

    Terrio, good lucky with the surgery and best wishes for a speedy recovery. With all of these goddesses sending good vibes your way, you should do fine. :)

    I can be a big worrier at times….like right now. The DH is retiring, we’re moving to NC, just mailed off too much money to Uncle Sam, etc. When I’m stressed, I become a B**tch from Hell and my family wishes I would shut myself in a room. ;)

    I plan on destressing in a couple of weeks when I fly to Seattle for a long weekend to see my sister….all by myself! That’s right, no hubby, no kids, just a girls’ weekend of shopping, spas, eating and drinking. I feel relaxed right now just thinking about it. I told my dh no one was allowed to call me unless it was a dire emergency–not being able to find something does NOT qualify as an emergency!

  34. Kasey on 19 Apr 2007 at 2:35 pm #

    Julia, October 23rd is marked on my calendar. I already knew it was part of your evil plan to hook me already.

    Terrio - good luck tomorrow. Julia’s book would be a great one to take and read why you are recuperating. I definitely recommend it.

  35. Karen Hawkins on 19 Apr 2007 at 2:50 pm #

    Karen R, my dad buys everything at Sam’s Club and has his cereal in a giant box that looks as if he should be working in a high school cafeteria. He loves that place!

    Ronlyn, the last few months of pregnancy last FOREVER. I’ll keep my fingers crossed that your move goes well and the baby doesn’t come chocolate-covered. Hugs, m’dear! That’s a lot of stuff, but the really cool thing is that in a few months it will alll beee ooovvverrrr!

    Yes, Andrea, you and I are Worry Sistahs. I notice you said you wrote poetry and I use my own writing to ‘get away from it all.’ so I hear you on that one. One day, you’ll have to share one of your poems with us! (Please?)

    Terrio, chocolate frosting from the plastic container … (eyes roll back into head) yummmmmmmmmmm!

    Gannon, your weekend to Seattle sounds AWESOME. Let us know how it goes and what sort of awesome shoes you buy. (You WILL be buying shoes, right? I mean — girls weekend, shopping, Seattle …????)

  36. KMB25 on 19 Apr 2007 at 2:52 pm #

    Julia…well, I suppose if I absolutely HAVE to wait til October 23rd…so be it! (I’m hoping that shadow dance will be out in paperback by then, and maybe a few other goddess authors will have new books out…hint hint!)

    Ronlyn, I think that my hubby and I will also be moving. I went today to look at a few new apartments…my awful neighbors downstairs throw these god-awful loud parties and wake me up out of a sound sleep. And I THOUGHT they’d be more mature as grad students…oh how foolish I am! That and rent is going up enough that I don’t want to have to pay the increase AND put up with the inconsiderate jerks downstairs. Hubby agrees…now pray I can find an apartment cheap!!!

    ~Kim

  37. MJ on 19 Apr 2007 at 2:55 pm #

    Yes….. I worry, particularly when my staff are enjoying a period of tempest-in-a-teapot interpersonal conflict, at which they excel…. I try standard relaxation techniques first…. music, hot baths, visualization….

    Then I read. Glory to escapism!! (Last night, I worried until 4:00 am, and finished almost 2 books. Who needs sleep? That must be Romance Rule #something?? At least during the heavy relationship development stage? Though usually for better reasons….)

  38. Kasey on 19 Apr 2007 at 3:21 pm #

    Kim - I know what you mean by loud neighbors. I want to get out of my apartment building becasue right now I have a highschooler above me that plays his music loudly in the bedroom (right over mine) all the time. Wakes me up at night, early in the morning. And, here I thought teenagers slept in on weekends. Very annoying. I completely understand and I have been thinking about moving myself but with only a year left of grad school I might try to stick it out until then because I hate moving.

  39. Julia London on 19 Apr 2007 at 3:52 pm #

    Oh Kasey and Kim, back in my apartment days, I lived below a couple who did it every Saturday morning at around 8 am. The walls were paper thin and their bed was ancient. I would wake up to the squeaking noise that got louder and faster and then…..boom. Down went his two fat feet on the floor, and he’d waddle off to the kitchen. You could hear him walk across the apartment to the kitchen.

    Its funny now, but it used to annoy the crap out of me, LOL

  40. Ann in IL on 19 Apr 2007 at 4:15 pm #

    So far this month…….my oldest brother had a heart attack and triple bypass on Good Friday. On the 11th, my youngest brother was admitted with chest pains, and my middle brother was told his only option was surgery at Mayo Clinic. My great-nephew ruptured his ear drum, and my 6mo old nephew has a cold.

    WORRY???????? I am The Official Worrier of this family of 37.

    How do I deal with stress? Eat, eat, eat. Chocolate, peanuts, pasta. More chocolate.

    Find a book and escape to another world. (currently half way through PPP - thanks Julia.)

  41. Judy on 19 Apr 2007 at 4:17 pm #

    I’m a total worrier. Comes with having the family I have, it’s in the genes. I worry about the road I’m taking, the classes I’m taking, my laziness of the classes I’m taking, will I get that A on the essay I did yesterday? Will I get the job I’m looking for? Will that metoer that’s supposed to strike Earth, finally hit and turn us intobrunt bacon?

    How I deal, I try to let it not, but, at day time I might be miss cool with nary a hair out of place, but come night, my sleeping santuary gets plague with piles and piles of nightmares. I’m not kidding.

    And what do I do to counteract this nagging nightmare truama, I read books. LOTS AND LOTS AND LOTS of books. You know those books that has not been cracked open since the dawn of time…oh yeah I’m reading it.

    I should really get pay for this worrying, Quality Assurance, indeed, what a dream job.

  42. DebMarlowe on 19 Apr 2007 at 4:29 pm #

    I am the queen bee of worry. But I just wore my worry muscle out. Just back from a trip to an indoor water park with my kids. One parent, 2 kids in a place filled with death defying watery thrilll rides and tons of half naked people. What was I thinking?

    But the kids had a big time.

    Deb
    who has never eaten a moon pie

  43. Judy F on 19 Apr 2007 at 4:33 pm #

    Terrio. Good luck on your surgery.

    I am a A+ worrier. I always say worry is my middle name.

    Worrying me right now is many things. Manly I still don’t feel up to par. My boss at my part time job is moving out of state and that leaves us with the hopeless asst manager who has been in training since Jan and still hasn’t picked up everything. (exp he has trouble with putting books in alpha order) YIKES.

    I worry just about everything. Mostly its stuff out of my control. Sometimes I don’t worry at all. Like last year when my job ended with only 30 days notice, I didn’t panic at all. Luckily I found a job before my old one ended.

    I turn to chocolate and reading.

    Oh on apartments. My first one the idiot that lived above me, was forever flooding his apt and thus mine. The apt I am in now is a four family. The guy above me is pretty quiet, the young couple that used to be above me, did it 24/7 or it seemed that way. LOL

  44. DebMarlowe on 19 Apr 2007 at 4:46 pm #

    I forgot to say–Good luck Terrio! Glad you’ll have PPP to keep you busy while you heal.

    We’re heading on a family book store visit after school tomorrow–always an expensive proposition between the four of us. Can’t wait to get my copy of PPP!

  45. Julia London on 19 Apr 2007 at 5:52 pm #

    You are welcome, Ann! Glad to be a stress reliever.

    Deb, we could never do a family trip to the bookstore unless somebody got a big bonus check, LOL.

  46. TinaLouiseF on 19 Apr 2007 at 5:55 pm #

    Currently the office where I work is worried about being merged with another dept. We have spent the last month and a half stressing over it and not spending enough time on our other projects.

    To unstress, I read.

  47. Brandy on 19 Apr 2007 at 6:28 pm #

    My Mom nicknamed me “the worrier” when I was a teenager, and I still am!
    I’m worried right now, because we want to put hardwoods down and I’m not sure if hubby is “handy” enough to do it. I”m worried that my hubby’s student loans are due to repayed next year (he’s working on his Masters Degree). I’m worried that my Dad’s wife hates me. I’m worried……….get the picture?
    When I’m seriously stressed I don’t sleep well, and I wake up with a sore jaw from gritting my teeth. I also cry at the drop of a hat and bug my hubs constantly with questions seeking reassurance.

  48. MizMacgyver on 19 Apr 2007 at 7:23 pm #

    Terrio, good luck on your surgery. Keep happy thoughts and mind what the doctor says.
    I live with stress, and as many of you, reading is what takes me away. At the moment what has me worried is a very sweet, gentle, special needs teen-age son. I have worried from the day I realized he wasn’t like other kids. He has a form of autism and it was a battle getting him “outside” himself. Well, I did it, I got him out but then came the worries of what is happening with him when he is not with me. He does not communicate well, actually, he volunteers nothing, trying to guess just what questions to ask has burned up way more brain cells that I ever had to start with. If he doesn’t want to go to school, I worry as to why, is he being mistreated? Do I call the school? Do I take a day off work I can’t afford and go to the school? When I ask why, “just cos”. His dad says he is not getting a lunch bill. Son, why are you not eating lunch? “I don’t know” he says. So I worry. continued

  49. DebMarlowe on 19 Apr 2007 at 7:23 pm #

    LOL, Julia! Both my kids have Borders gift certificates that family sent for their birthdays. They are burning holes in their pockets!

  50. MizMacgyver on 19 Apr 2007 at 7:55 pm #

    I worry about work. I have two supervisors, count them, two! No one should ever have more than one supervisor. My main worry is, they don’t like each other. And they don’t know how to share, leaving me smack in the middle. I also work with accounts payable which is like having yet another boss. I kinda feel like a chick with 4 hens.

  51. Mad on 19 Apr 2007 at 9:02 pm #

    I want to say I’m the Queen of Cool but ask one of my girls and they’ll say I’m the Servant of Snappiness. *G*

  52. Kelly Ann on 19 Apr 2007 at 9:15 pm #

    I am not normally a worrier. I leave that to my hubby. However, I worry about my kids all the time. I worry about bad weather (last week we had 4 circulations in our town, hail & heavy rain, my kids were in school and I was working - in another town trapped in my office basement, my kids trapped in their school, it was aweful), I also worry about kidnappings, someone breaking in our house etc. For these kinds of things I pray. I know I can’t coddle my kids, they have to live and have fun, I just have to trust that nothing will happen to them, it’s just so horrid out there. Oh, and I try to watch only the weather when possible!

    For the little things that stress me out I mix up a little vodka w/ whatever I have on hand & grab a romance. The vodka doesn’t happen that often anymore, so my replacement has been chocolate!

    I only want a trainer if he is gorgeous, 6′1, built like a god and a naked! Probably will never have one, so, I will remain fat, sassy & obliviously happy!

  53. Kelly Ann on 19 Apr 2007 at 9:22 pm #

    MizMacgyver I worked in a place like that @ my last job in Florida. One woman evenutally left, but they would get in screaming matches! It was aweful! I learned to ignore it and when the really aweful one that I couldn’t stand left, we had a party! Work life got better after that, especially since I got her job! I think the problem is, too many chiefs! Everyone wants to be in charge and once they get the title they don’t want to do any more work. They want to distribute it to others. Good luck, I feel for you!

  54. catslady on 19 Apr 2007 at 10:16 pm #

    I try doing more reading when I’m really stressed - it takes me away and I stop obsessing about things for a while anyway.

  55. Sabrina Jeffries on 19 Apr 2007 at 10:37 pm #

    MizMacgyver, I know just what you mean about the worrying about your autistic son. My teen is completely nonverbal, so I sometimes drive myself crazy wondering what’s happening to him when he’s not with me. Don’t you just wish you could crawl inside their brains for a day?

    Mucho hugs, and I raise a slice of cyber-pizza to you (my way of coping for years–except that unfortunately it wasn’t actually cyber. See post above about eating my way through stress).

  56. KMB25 on 19 Apr 2007 at 11:52 pm #

    ok, so my worries are so nonexistent in the face of dealing with special needs children…but right now I’m feeling very stressed.

    I’ve spent my last three hours this evening looking for an apartment. Julia…I also hear the girl who lives upstairs. I’ve nicknamed her “thunderhooves”…thankfully I don’t think I’ve ever met her. She also has a tendency to get “frisky” around 12 or 1 in the morning a few times a week…but we only ever usually hear her…not sure if there’s ACTUALLY someone else up there with her. Not sure I really want to know that either…*G*

    ~Kim

  57. TheNightPoet on 20 Apr 2007 at 11:27 am #

    hehe Karen, I just might do that. Not many people have read my poems, well other than those that were in my poetry classes. The poetry classes I have taken in college…the students and sometimes the teachers haven’t understood my poems. One teacher I got so mad with at times. He was a great teacher, but some of my poems you have to read beneath the surface and others the meaning is right there on the surface and he just couldn’t get that. I had to explain that to him everytime he critiqued one of my poems. The majority of my poems have only been read by my parents and one of my close friends. I have this thing about letting people read them. I think it goes along with the whole thing of someone being nervous about having others read their writing. You know what I mean? I do want to get them published down the road. I’ll have to look through my poems and pick one out for all of you to enjoy.

    Andrea

  58. MizMacgyver on 20 Apr 2007 at 4:22 pm #

    Kelly Ann, the main problem with me is I am team leader to both, and though what I deal with under each supervisor is similar, I kind of have to be there to do it. One is over the cashiers the other is over Central Processing which is posting the money that the cashier’s take. I have to balance every day, we are talking approximately 2-3 million dollars a day has to be balanced to the penny on spreadsheets. If a cashier is off, I have to replace her, which means I can’t do the spreadsheets, that ticks my one super off because the other super lets too many people off at one time and we don’t have enough coverage. In the meantime it only takes one day to put me behind so far it takes days to catch up.

  59. MizMacgyver on 20 Apr 2007 at 4:29 pm #

    Sabrina, I truly do wish I could read his mind all the time. Bless your (and his heart) mine can talk, actually has a darn good vocabulary but a lot of people can’t understand him because he has a speech impediment. His worse problem is he “backs” but I am thankful he speaks at all. I can remember when he didn’t and it worried me constantly. Is he in pain, is he hungry, you know what I mean. Once before he started talking (he was almost 5) he was hungry and my mother and aunt who baby sat couldn’t figure out what he wanted, they took him through the kitchen, the freezer, even over to my aunt’s house. Just couldn’t figure it out, he was in tears, so were they and I walked in the door from work. Mom was trying to tell me why everyone was crying, he was wrapped around my knees crying. I sat down and said baby, draw a picture for mommy, show me what you want, he drew 3 slices of bacon, needless to say we had bacon and eggs for dinner that night.

  60. Sabrina Jeffries on 20 Apr 2007 at 9:36 pm #

    Nick is echolalic, so he does repeat what WE say or phrases he’s heard on his videos. Once in a great while, he uses a phrase from a video appropriately. But mostly, I give him options and the one he echoes most enthusiastically is usually what he wants.

    Then there was the time he came in chanting, “Madison,” over and over to the point of tears and we never did figure out what he wanted. It was SOOO frustrating.

    And yes, I know that even the verbal autistics may talk, but they don’t necessarily communicate their feelings. It doesn’t make sense to them to do so. Sigh.

  61. Karen Hawkins on 21 Apr 2007 at 1:30 am #

    Children can be heartbreakers sometimes, can’t they? My son is going through his Rebellion Year, which has thus far consisted of breaking every rule on the books, and the ones he hasn’t broken, he’s bent. He’s very good at bending rules. A natural born talent, it seems.

    Mad, I’m with you. I THINK I’m the Queen of Cool, but there are others who would disagree. Darn them!

    Brandy, I don’t sleep well, myself. In fact, it’s 2:30 in the morning right now and here I sit, chatting with you all! :)

    Hugs to all of you apartment hunters. I just bought my first ever house last year, so I know alll the joys of paper thin walls.

    Andrea, all authors feel nekkid when they put their work out there for the world to see. It’s a part of the process. While it never gets easier, you begin to realize that no matter how hard you work, SOMEONE is not going to ‘get’ your work. After a while, you accept that and just let your anxiety go.

    Ok, off to work some. That’s a good way to deal with stress, too!

  62. MizMacgyver on 21 Apr 2007 at 1:00 pm #

    Sabrina, my son gets a phrase or word in his mind like that (most current is “pancake”). And he will get an action caught in a loop too. Like cleaning his nails, I have spent his lifetime trying to keep him clean (harder now cos I can’t do it myself) and he got a thing going with picking up anything (toothpicks, pencils,etc.) to clean his nails. Once he was watching a movie and when I looked over his nails were black!! Then I saw the pencil laying on the table beside him. He had the right idea but the wrong tool. That took a lot of talking to straighten out. I can’t keep toothpicks in the house because I find them everywhere. It is frustrating when he thinks he is doing it right and I have to tell him well yes, but not quite. He is 17 and I still have to check my dishes and silverware to make sure he hasn’t put something back in the shelf or drawer dirty. He knows where everything is and he figures he will just put it back when he is done. Then mom don’t have to wash it.

  63. MizMacgyver on 21 Apr 2007 at 1:06 pm #

    Karen, you are so right, they seem to think it in their job description don’t they? My daughter started rebelling at age 13 and she is now 28 and living in another state and still manages to rebel. My son is more the “passive resistance” type of guy.

  64. TheNightPoet on 22 Apr 2007 at 11:33 pm #

    Karen, thanks for saying that. You’re right, eventually I just have to let my anxiety go and not worry about those people that may not like my writing. I’m still looking for a poem to share with you all, but I’ll let you know when I’ve decided which one it will be. :)

    Andrea

  65. Karen Hawkins on 23 Apr 2007 at 1:47 pm #

    Ok, then! We’re holding you to that, AnDr-Evil-a. I, for one, can’t wait!!!!! :)

  66. TheNightPoet on 23 Apr 2007 at 2:00 pm #

    lol Karen, you crack me up. I am not evil. :P It will be a big step for me to show you all the poem, but I think it will be a good one. I trust you all here. :)

    Andrea