Category: Prompts

What change, big or small, would you like your blog to make in the world?

I would want my writing to inspire people to think, to wonder, and to embrace the randomness of each.

List 30 things that make you happy.

• Writing
• Reading
• Learning
• Drawing
• Dogs
• Cats
• Babies
• Baby animals
• Stars
• The moon
• Asking questions
• Contemplation
• Progress on my goals
• Laughter
• Making someone smile or laugh
• Solving a problem
• Helping other people
• Deep, meaningful discussions
• Random, silly discussions
• Taking the first bite of something i’ve been craving
• Hot baths
• Massages
• Sitting outside listening to birds
• Fire
• Talking to myself and having it end with inspiration or epiphany
• Teaching others
• Finding patterns in data
• Organizing a system or process for efficiency
• Giving someone hope
• Being me

Write about a random act of kindness you’ve done for someone.

Wow. I dunno what to say here.

Let someone into traffic? Done it, many, many times.

Gave someone money they dropped? Yep.

Randomly complimented someone? Sure have!

Helped a stranger in a parking lot jump start their car? Yeah, done that too.

The thing is, i don’t see these as “random acts of kindness”… i see them as being a decent fucking human.

Maybe that’s the thing. Maybe we need to stop treating kindness as this rare altruistic act and instead consider it as a basic quality of being alive…

Just my two cents.

How would you describe yourself to someone who can’t see you?

The same way i would to someone who can… i’m intelligent, kind, caring, nerdy, and a bit strange.

Not a damn thing about me that actually matters has anything to do with how I look.

Was today typical?

Was today typical, as in filled with random, unrelated issues and problems that I was expected to solve?

Yes.

Was today typical in a “same shit, different day” kinda way? Not at all. My days never are. And that’s what I fucking love about my job.

How would you describe yourself to someone?

Third person description. Because i can.

She’s an intelligent, kind, and strong person. She is very forgiving, but can act with heartless, clinical precision if circumstances call for that. She’s quirky, nerdy, and obsessive about learning. She hates drama and small talk, generally keeping to herself. She’s an awesome listener, though, very compassionate. But if you get her going on something she’s interested in? Yeah, you’ll be discussing that, (as well as any random but related thing that comes up) for hours.

What strategies do you use to maintain your health and well-being?

Health – movement. Listening to my body. Resting when i need to instead of pushing until my body forces the issue. Grounding. hydration.

Wellbeing – writing. Listening to silence. Protect my peace and my energy. Letting go. Observation. Sunlight.

What’s the story behind your nickname?

Wow, this has the potential to be a long one. I have had quite a few nicknames over the years. But, we’ll just go with the most recent ones…

“Number Woman” – this was bestowed by a coworker due to not only my love of complex math, numbers and related theory (pi, phi, fibonacci, etc.) but my affinity for remembering random numbers. Years ago, when i first started at the company, this coworker walks in and says “11723 – make sure i remember that order number!” He went about his business, but was able to tell him a day or so later when he asked. i was dubbed “number woman” shortly thereafter.

“Siri” – my boss had an epiphany or something during a conversation one day, and started calling me Siri because he could ask what the weather is for the day, info he needed for work, or even random curious questions and i usually had the answer for him. Some of the staff picked it up too…

So, yeah, those are the stories behind my current nicknames.

What do you listen to while you work?

Depends.

At the office? Other people. The noises from the factory and warehouse.

At home? Music. Silence that isn’t silence because of the dogs and traffic going by. Me, talking to myself.