Archive for the ‘Monthly Rant’ Category
My Book Promotion Blooper
Recently, I had the wonderful opportunity to be a featured guest on Marilyn Lee’s yahoo group for an exclusive on-line chat. I was thrilled to give it a try. While I’m an avid blogger here and at Roses of Prose, as well as a frequent tourist of the blogosphere, I had never experienced the power of the yahoo chat room. When I scheduled the event, I didn’t know my husband would be planning a special family weekend getaway to Hot Springs, Virginia. I figured no problem.
I joined the on-line group and set my membership to receive individual messages. I tested to ensure I could receive and respond on my blackberry. I posted my bio, book blurb, and links to my video trailer, blogs, & website in advance because I didn’t know how to do that from my phone. So proud of myself for overcoming the obstacle and my ability to take my show on the road—literally.
No problem, right?—WRONG! Sure, it seemed fine as we set out on the road. I had grandiose plans of completing the chat as a passenger and starting vacation as soon as we arrived at the Homestead Resort.
Little did I know, at precisely 10:59 a.m. – one minute before the chat was to begin—we would enter a dead zone in the mountains. A country glitch this city girl did not anticipate. I spent the next hour typing messages destined to wait in my “send queue.”
Apologizing to the group;
Explaining where I was;
Letting them know I’d answer questions soon as I had a signal;
Updating them on the lovely scenery;
Promising them I was a “texting” passenger, not driver;
And more.
I didn’t’ have a signal until we arrived at the resort. My messages left my outbox and a slew of questions arrived in my inbox. I rudely ignored my family during luch and did what I often yell at my teen-son for doing—texted at the table! I know—double standard! But this was a unique circumstance.
All in all, it ended up fine. I met some new on-line friends. I hope they’ll buy my book!
Are you an author? Share with me some of your mose challenging moments while promoting your books.
Best to you,
Lisa Lipkind Leibow
Author of Smart Women’s Fiction
www.LLLeibow.com
LISA’S MONTHLY RANT: Happy Chaos Can Make Me Crazy!
I only have myself to blame… After all, I’m the parent, right. I should be the one who’s in control of the family schedule. And I hope you won’t think I’m shallow that I’m ranting about what I normally call the “happy chaos” that fills my life. However, sometimes the frenetic pace of making sure everyone is where they are supposed to be exhausts me. (Not to mention that I carry anxiety over missing an event, practice, or bringing the wrong boy to the right field at the wrong time – or other such mix-up).
If the kids’ team coaches and managers could give me schedule at the beginning of each season for practices and games, life would be easy. I could set up car pools with ease, schedule other family time and events around those activities.
But, for some reason, many of the extracurricular activities my children chose are managed by the scattershot approach. Little League baseball, Rec-league lacrosse, and even High School Baseball coaches seem to schedule practices on an ad hoc basis, making it next to impossible to arrange carpools, plan a week’s activities in advance, or know whether my child is available to attend a birthday party two weeks away.
The notion that the life of the “soccer Mom” (translated to include Dad’s, grandparents, or anyone who carts kids around to activities including but not limited to soccer) is a breeze is pure and utter crap. Any adult who acts as activities director for a child or children is likely to come away from the experience with skills to rival any Five Star General in charge of military logistics.
I understand that fields and practice space are at a premium, and sometimes weather gets in the way. However, for the life of me, I cannot figure out why these sports leagues cannot set a schedule in advance. Why must the coaches text or email the time and place of the next practice on a weekly or even daily basis. For goodness sake! Even if they just looked at last year’s schedule and modeled a new one after it. This would make the activities so much more family-friendly. (I’m begging my readers not to volunteer me for the job of making said-schedule. I do appreciate the volunteers who take on this task, I just wish they did it differently).
My kids love these activities and love to stay busy. Every time I mention how we are over-scheduled, the reaction from my boys is, “No, Mom! We like it!” They don’t seem to mind that they run from All County Chorus to a baseball practice, or from band or play practice to Lacrosse, from Religious school directly to a tennis lesson.
They have come to understand that if three boys with two parents wish to participate in all of these different activities, that sometimes a Mom or Dad will not be in the stands cheering them on – because instead, we’ll be with the other brothers.
I’m ranting, I know. But that’s all part of this monthly feature. Chime in! Fellow time-strapped parents unite!
Remind me that in the not-too-distant future, when my kids are in college, I won’t know what to do when I’m managing only my own activities and they’re in charge of their own. In the meantime, I’d love some tips for managing and improving my attitude over happy chaos.
Best to you,
Lisa Lipkind Leibow
Author of Smart Women’s Fiction
www.LLLeibow.com
LISA’S MONTHLY RANT: This Girl Passes On TV’s That Need Glasses
Recent media reports promise three-dimensional images will jump out of movie theaters and into living rooms sometime this year. (e.g. CNN) According the linked report, Sony and Panasonic say they will release home 3-D television systems in 2010; Mitsubishi and JVC are reported to be working on similar products. Is this really as a simple as the switch from black-and-white to color television and the shift from standard- to high-definition images?
I’m less than enthusiastic about this new technology. Don’t get me wrong. It would be cool to watch the tube and have football players appear to jump out of the screen during live 3-D broadcasts, or watch the Discovery Channel and feel like I’m standing next to an African Elephant in my living room (sure to freak out Bosco the family dog if we could fit him with glasses).
The above parenthetical brings me to the real topic of this rant: GLASSES.
You see, this 3-D gimmick requires a new television, broadcasting content, and 3-D glasses. I have spent the better part of my life trying to avoid wearing glasses. In elementary school I ‘lost’ them on a regular basis. As soon as I was old enough, I switched to contact lenses. With each new development in optometry, I advanced to wearing my glasses less and less often – soft contact lenses by day, and glasses only at night, extended wear contact lenses worn for a week at a time, with glasses worn only while cleaning them, and disposable extended wear lenses that allowed me to avoid having to wear glasses during disinfecting-time. Finally, ten years ago, I underwent LASIK surgery. I’M FREE!! But I have this 3-D TV technology promise looming large in the future.
Vanity and convenience aren’t the only reasons I’m against needing 3-D glasses to watch television. I also hate the fact that I’m inundated with umpteen remote controls, video game controllers, and other gadgets to add to the clutter, to misplace, and to confuse. Add a pair of glasses for every member of the family as well as a few extra pairs for guests, and that’s a dozen more pieces of stuff I didn’t want around my house in the first place!
Best to you,
Lisa Lipkind Leibow
Author of Smart Womens’ Fiction
www.LLLeibow.com