Mezes Musings

Actually my only journal, on-line or off.

Why Mezes? Mezes is Greek for appetizers, or small portions.
Otherwise stated: tapas, hors d'oeuvres, antipasto.
It's also the name of my favourite Greek restaurant,
where you can order one single lambchop at a time.

I don't expect to be making long entries, because typing is so slow.
Thus, Mezes Musings.

Thu Jul 01 2004

lyrics from the musical HAIR

i had a brutal emotional shock last month. I still have a lot of grief and confusion that haunts me daily. This morning I woke up with these lyrics from the musical HAIR going through my mind. they're very apropos.

How can people be so heartless
How can people be so cruel
Easy to be hard
Easy to be cold

How can people have no feelings
How can they ignore their friends
Easy to be proud
Easy to say no

And especially people
Who care about strangers
Who care about evil
And social injustice
Do you only
Care about the bleeding crowd?
How about a needing friend?
I need a friend

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Tue Mar 16 2004

i'm a grandmother

step-grandmother.
marin pappin born march 5 at 6;19 am

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Sat Feb 07 2004

Of stomach tubes ad contest wins

I've been back from hospital for a week but in too much pain to post.
Here are snippets from emails I've sent.

2/2/04 - 12:37 pm

HI everyone
I’m finally back from London.
Had so much fun I decided to stay for two weeks instead of one.
Actually, I had surgery last Monday.
For reasons that had nothing to do with hospital food, I decided to have a feeding tube put into my stomach. It was somewhat traumatic experience as I was awake during the procedure. The supervising surgeon was a veteran, but the trainee was a bit of a pill (people who are pills take themselves far too seriously).
Am in a fair amount of pain, especially when I laugh (ha,ha). The incision is just under my ribs so movement and transfers are not comfortable (she says with wry understatement). Getting by with lotsa 5444445codeine.
I can still eat with the tube, as swallowing function is good. But all those pills can be squirted right into me. Yay!

IN other news
Lungs have improved. Sarcoid under control.
I do have an obstruction in esophugus which they described as “a fungus”, though what kind (portobello? Shitake?) they did not say. Being treated for that.

And my ALS is “rather indolent”

2/2/04 -- 14:36pm
From: "SFWoE \(Gil Reis\)"
Date: Mon, 2 Feb 2004 14:36:13 -0600
To: "Genevieve Kierans"
Subject: SFWoE: 2003 Contest

Congratulations Genevieve Kierans, Winner of the 2003 SFWoE SF/F Short Story Contest!

We will send you your prize money next week after we finish programming the web site and have finished notifying all the contestants. Please inform us the best way to send you your prize money.

As soon as possible, we would like to place a short bio written by you in our "Meet The Winners" online article. The style and format we use may be viewed at: http://www.flash.net/~sfwoe/newsltr.htm#200

If you can mention your winning story title, "Mirror, Mirror" and something of interest about writing it or how you came up with the idea for the story in your bio, it will help to tie you to your winning story.

SFWoE wishes to place your winning story on the SFWoE Website, as contestants are very eager to read the stories that win our the contest. It also serves to promote your writing ability, which is what SFWoE is all about. Please let us know when you send the story to our artist (see message below).

Again, Congratulations Genevieve on a writing task well done.
Gil Reis

Gil Reis ---SFWoE Administrator

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Sun Jan 18 2004

Writing News

Not much to report.
Still waiting to hear if I've sold Lady of Land's End
Trying not to think of looming announcement of contest winners for Mirror, Mirror at end of Jan
Decided it's time to go back to novel BUT
also have neat idea for short story based on an old English folksong
AND
still writing content for website.
Still writing with one finger.

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A CAUTIONARY FAIRYTALE

I visualize this fairy as looking like The Ghost of Xmas Present as played by Carol Kane in Scrooged, all wrapped up in silver gauze and dementedly gleeful.
A Fairy told a married couple: "For being such an exemplary married couple for 35 years, I will give you each a wish"
> "I want to travel around the world with my dearest husband" said the wife.
> The fairy moved her magic wand and abracadabra! two tickets appeared in her hands.
> Now it was the husband's turn. He thought for a moment and said:
> "Well this moment is very romantic, but an opportunity like this only occurs once in a lifetime. So....I'm sorry my love, but my wish is to have a wife 30 years younger than me". The wife was deeply disappointed but, a wish was a wish.
> The Fairy made a circle with her magic wand and.......abracadabra!...
> Suddenly the husband was 90 years old.
> Men might be bastards.
> But Fairies are....................Female
>
>

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Not posting enough

Been accused of not posting enough by fellow Clarionite.
Here's a recent [edited] email to a friend in Aberdeen:

"Hi Peter
How are you? And your mum?
Looking forward to seeing you in March.
Marina’s doing well, now attempting the standing set beside the bars. Andy is walking backwards down the stairs.

I’m not as hot. Just got back from HRWeek in which I did not progress/improve as much as I did in Dec. Hoping this is only due to missing Tai Chi over hols. Am planning on going to D’Arcy to work more with Danny who is an exacting taskmaster... Next week I’m going into hospital for 1-4 days for tests’n’stuff. The prospect of up to a week without email is daunting indeed.

It’s colder than a Viking Hell here. I think we should lobby for an HRWeek in Florida...

This past week, I had occasion to use Maria’s word “skyving”. Andy had great fun making jokes about skyving in skivvies — well, you know Andy so you can imagine.
I’m cc’ing this to the U’K Connection because I’m down to one finger that works [grumble, grumble] so it’s difficult typing multiple emails.

Hi Sam, Maria, Gary & Wilma, Dave, Yvonne & Lavinia
If I’ve missed anyone, sorry.
Love to all.

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Fri Jan 09 2004

RETURN OF THE KING-2nd time

It's better.
This has been my experience with each of the films. I think it's because the first time I was apprehensive about what they might cut. Or do. Second time, I could sit back and enjoy myself. Which ironically meant I cried more.
That being said, a lot of my original comments still hold.
Not enough of Faramir. I've had to put him on my desk-top to make up for it.
Worried about Oliphaunts.
What's with Gandalf losing hope and Aragorn telling him to listen to his heart? In TT, it was Legolas who despaired. Don't buy it from either.
What's with shots of Denethor eating like a pig with juice dribbling down his chin? Do we need to see that?
Why is "the life of the Eldar" leaving Arwen and not Elrond & Co.? Why does Elrond tell Aragorn her life is tied to the Ring and she is dying? First of all, the fate of all the Elves is tied to the Ring. Secondly, Aragorn would know this.
What's with Theoden's little flash of temper - "Gondor didn't help me so why should I help Gondor"? It didn't seem worthy of the character.
Why is Merry at the final battle? The book makes a point of the fact he's not allowed to go.
Why does Aragorn ride up to the Gate to challenge the Enemy? Wouldn't he have a herald? And I rather miss the Mouth of Sauron scene from the book. It made far more dramatic sense.
Stay tuned for more comments when I see it again.
Did I mention there wasn't enough of Faramir?

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Sat Jan 03 2004

My birthday

I'm 45 today. Weather overcast & very balmy -- 11 degrees -- but supposed to go back to winter tomorrow. 4-day migraine from hell finally tapering off. I'm taking stock and making resolutions. (I typically do this on my birthday rather than New Year's, like other people do). Resolutions fall into two categories -- those I can control and those I can't but really want to.
Stuff I can't control: getting published. Getting well.
Stuff I can: Finish novel. Submit. Submit. Submit. Drink more water.
Found an onscreenkeyboard for Macs called Keystrokes 3. Don't know what it will cost.
Going to see LOTR this aft for 2nd time... Stay tuned.

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Fri Jan 02 2004

Looking ahead Day 2

I HAd meant to add more to my entry yesterday but had to go to dinner at mum's. REREADIng it, it sounds awfully self-pitying. I'm not really. I was raised to soldier onn, regardless. And soldier, I shall.
A dear friend who works in film publicity just gave me a script to synopsize, so I'd better hop to it. It's due this weekend

More...

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Thu Jan 01 2004

Looking ahead

Today is New Year's and I can't help comparing it to last year. And that is somewhat depressing, as I have lost more mobility and had more health problems in the past year than in all the previous years combined. The year got off to a great beginning when I placed 2nd in the SFWoE contest and that high continued for another month or so, but then everythiing unravelled. Now I type this with my one working finger and have to think seriously about going to an on-screen keyboard which will further slow me down. Pasrticularly demoralizing as I am going through a real creative high and have stories dying to pour out of my fingers, and like abroken down rusty faucet, they'e only giving me a slow drip.
But worse than that, for I eventually will master the on-screen keyboard, is the fact that reading a book has become incredibly arduous as I cannot turn the pages...

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