A Gift From an Artist

Have you ever received a gift from an artist? What was it? How did you react? I received a beautiful gift from an artist recently, and as an artist, I like to give my art out as gifts. So, what’s the best way to receive these artful gifts?

If you ask me. The best way to receive a gift from an artist is to appreciate it. REALLY appreciate it. Don’t just say “wow, that’s beautiful” and move on. Say “wow, that’s beautiful,” and admire its beauty. Take a moment to really look at the strokes involved in the artwork, the pattern of the stitches, or the blend of the colors. Look for the shapes within the patchwork, and hear the story behind it.

Now, you do have to be careful. Taking the time to admire the beauty of the art also gives you a chance to find its flaws. Artists are human, we’re not perfect. You may find a hair in the painting or a loose thread in the stitching. Spacing might be off, or details might not be fine enough. When you come to these flaws, the best thing you can do is to NOT MENTION THEM. What you’re receiving is a gift. The artist worked hard to make it for you. They spent their time for you. They didn’t make it so you can critique it. They made it so you can enjoy it. So, why bring them down by pointing out the flaws in their hard work? The best thing you can do as a gift receivers is to make the giver feel good about giving the gift.

Now, I get it. There are people out there who aren’t artists. The best thing you can draw is a stick figure. So, when an artist gives you an incredible piece of work, you compare it to your own abilities and it makes you feel a tinge of jealousy or inadequacy. I certainly feel that way when my art is compared to others. These feelings of jealousy or wishing you were a better artist then you are tend to lead you into looking for the flaws in the artwork you’ve received as a gift. You point out the flaws because it makes you feel better. Tells you that this artist who gave you this incredible gift isn’t perfect. Well, it might make you feel better, but it doesn’t make the artist feel very good. They worked hard to make this for you, so don’t point out any of its flaws. Keep those flaws to yourself and appreciate the gift. I mean, that’s our job as gift receivers, isn’t it? Someone takes the time, money, and thought to give us something, we should make the giver feel good about giving it out. People say that it’s better to give than to receive, but how people receive may ruin someone’s desire to give. So, it’s equally as important to know how to receive any gift, not just artwork.

I hope you’ll keep this in mind whenever you receive a gift. May you receive it with appreciation and keep its flaws to yourself. You don’t want to be that person nobody gives anything to because you always find what’s wrong with it.

2023 Dreams

Hey everyone! Haven’t seen you since last year! Can you believe it? I haven’t posted for you guys since last year.

Those are the kind of jokes we all hear at this time, aren’t they? They’re certainly going around my DnD group. I’ll admit it. I find them amusing, and do them a lot.

But, in all seriousness, it’s 2023. How are you feeling about it? Excited? Nervous? Dreading?

If you ask me, I’m hopeful. 2022 was good to me. I’m hoping more dreams will come true in 2023. I’m hoping I’m brave enough to seize them with both hands.

I’ve made my dreams pretty clear in previous posts. So, what about you? What are your dreams for 2023. How are you going to help them come true?

Feel free to let me know in the comments here or on any of my social pages.

Cheers to 2023, everyone. May all our dreams come true.

Last Post of the Year

It is to my great dismay that I inform everyone that this will be my last post of the 2022 year. It has been a long and good run this year, but I’m afraid I won’t have any time to write anymore webposts until next year. Thank you all for your understanding and your patience for when next year’s posts come out. It has been a huge honor writing for you and I can’t wait to do it again next year. I hope you all have a fun end to this year and I hope 2023 brings you joy, merriment, and–most importantly–dreams come true. May all our dreams come true.

Thank you everyone for your support! I’ll see you next year!

Lessons From Beat Saber

If you have a VR headset, you probably know what Beat Saber is. It’s a game, similar to guitar hero, where you have two laser, saber swords and you have to swing them in time with the beat of different songs. It makes for a great workout, helps with hand-eye coordination, and is a lot of fun–in my opinion.

I’ve been playing Beat Saber on and off for several years now, and I just wanted to share a couple lessons I learned from the game.

  1. Stay On Beat
    Going too slow or too fast leads to mistakes. You don’t want to rush yourself or fall behind. Stay in tune with the timing of the course and you’ll see victory.
  2. Stay Focused
    Don’t let your mind wander or go into “auto-pilot” mode. Be intentional with every move you make and stay in the moment.
  3. Look Ahead
    Keep your eyes forward and pay attention to what’s coming your way. You want to watch out for switch ups, bombs, and barriers. You have everything you need to overcome the obstacles
  4. Don’t Show Fear
    It’s okay to be afraid, but when the difficult solos come up, go for them! Make the effort and even if you don’t succeed, your attempt means progress.
  5. Have Fun
    When you’re shooting for success, sometimes it’s easy to get wrapped up in the details. You stress over getting it all perfect that you forget to have fun along the way.
  6. Challenge Yourself
    The only way to get better is to challenge yourself. Dare to do the harder levels and branch out to songs you’re unfamiliar with. It make take several tries for you to get it, but practice makes perfect.
  7. Slow It Down Every Now and Then
    As good as it is to challenge yourself, it’s helpful to slow down every once in a while. Choose something easier to do and give yourself a cooldown. Slowing down even helps you enjoy the music and focus more on your radical dance moves.
  8. Don’t Dwell on Your Mistakes
    Never. NEVER dwell on your mistakes. If you focus on what you missed, you’re not going to get what coming toward you. Learn from your mistakes for the next time around, but let them go so they don’t ruin your victory.

Merry Christmas Eve!

It’s Christmas Eve! Are you as excited as I am? Tomorrow we celebrate the birth of a Savior, gather with family and friends, and open gifts we’ve worked so hard to pick out for each other. I’ll be working the first part of tomorrow because animals require care everyday of the year, but I’m with the hippos! I’ll give each one a Merry Christmas nose rub for you.

Regardless if you’re working, staying home, or traveling. I hope this Christmas will be a happy and memorable one for you. May you feel blessed and loved, and spoiled with family. May you have yummy food and warm homes. May you tell stories, and jokes, and feel welcome by all you’re around.

Merry Christmas everyone! And God bless you!

Merry Cheetah Christmas!

It’s below a feels like of 20 degrees
I’m wearing six layers and can’t feel my feet.
The cheetah exhibit is currently bare
but the enrichment we have will put Christmas in the air
We’ve presents painted with child-safe paint
And streaming decorations that hang in your face
A cutout tree all decorated and pretty
Fitted with a skirt to look nice for our kitties
We’ve cardboard candy canes stuck in the ground
And hidden treats that will need to be found
Our favorite decorations are the stockings hung with care
Listing our cheetah’s names–they are quite the pair
Everything’s sprinkled with seasonings all around
Just so the boys can knock it all down
To decorate the exhibit is quite the honor
For someone who’s always been a cheetah fawner
We’ve just two boys, full of hisses and spits
And when locked off exhibit, they throw a small fit
The jury’s still out on if they’ve been good this year
It depends on which keeper you ask around here
But whether they’re naughty or whether they’re nice
And despite the fact that my face feels like ice
We’ll set up the exhibit, make it a big occasion
So our two cheetahs can have a Christmas celebration

Merry Christmas everyone!

Yearly Review

Good morning, everyone! It’s December so that means it’s time for yearly reviews at our workplaces. I actually have mine today, and it’s safe to say: I’m nervous. I think I’ve worked really hard this past year, but to be honest, I haven’t had a yearly work review since 2019.

2019!

Why? Well, at the place I worked at during 2020 and 2021, my manager had a lot on her plate. She’d talk about doing the reviews, but they never happened. Which proved to me how much she was overworked. If you’re a manager and you’re struggling to get your reviews done–and are tempted to not do them. I strongly recommend against it. It speaks volumes when you put off stuff like that for your team. They’re working hard for you, they deserve to know how they’re doing.

So, in the spirit of yearly reviews, I’d like to extend my website. To all my followers out there and those coming around for a peek, please, let me know what you think. How are you enjoying this website? Is it helping you in anyway? Is there more of a certain type of post you’d like to see? Feel free to let me know.

I appreciate all of you readers more than you realize.

Thicker Over Time

I was pulling out my new planner the other day. I got my 2023 planner a couple months ago and since we’re in the middle of December, I wanted to pull it out, add stickers to it, and fill in the first page. I got the same type of planner as this past year. It’s one that gives every day of the week a full page so I can write in what I do, what thoughts I have, and other notes to each day so that each day counts in some way. Well, I had my two planners side-by-side, and I noticed something. Something subtle and yet, a no-brainer. These two planners are exactly the same. Same page amount, same cover thickness, spiral shape. The only difference is that one says 2022 and the other 2023. Yet, my 2022 planner is thicker.

This is the no-brainer part. Well worn books, notebooks, etc. are going to be thicker just because they’ve been open a bunch or written in. The binding stretches and the pages lift. I’ve been opening my 2022 planner every day this year to write in it, read it, or think. As for my 2023: I opened it for the first time the other day. My life isn’t in it yet.

Maybe I’m just weird, but I appreciated the this subtle detail between my planners. To me it showed growth, quality, time and dedication given. It’s a good visual of what a year holds, and how each day adds to its thickness. I hope 2023 will get even thicker with good quality growth, adventure, and dreams. It’s kind of exciting looking back on this year and wondering what the next year will bring. BUT, this year isn’t over yet. I still got a couple more weeks of my planner to fill out and I’m sure each day will be great.

I’m Dreaming of a Warm Vacation

A fun play off Bing Crosby’s “I’m Dreaming of a White Christmas”

I’m dreaming of a warm vacation
Just like the ones I used to know
Where the sun shines and all is fine
And I don’t have to worry about snow

I’m dreaming of a warm vacation
With every shiver up my spine
May the days get hotter and bright
And may vacations never be white

I’m dreaming of a warm vacation
Where I don’t have to trudge in snow
And the treetops are green and children don’t scream
Because the days are zero and below

I’m dreaming of a warm vacation
With every word on here I type
May your days be merry and bright
And your vacations never be white

Character Rescue

“Oh, come on, there’s gotta be something,” I let out a sigh and flip another page in my fifteenth notebook. “All this good writing and I can’t come up with an idea.” The next page is blank. End of the notebook. I toss it on the pile beside me and shuffle through the bookshelf to find another.

“I really should organize this.” Next notebook I pull is completely empty. The cover’s really pretty though. Wonder what I saving it for? “Alright, empty journals, notebooks, and notepads go on the far right.”

I pull another notebook. Everything in it pertains to my novels. “I should read this over again.” I squint at one of the titles in the middle of the notebook. This one must be pretty old because I don’t include that scene anymore. I sigh. I need to clump everything together in one notebook. “Everything pertaining to my novel goes on the far left.”

I grab another spiral. It’s a sketchbook. One I used for high school. Next to it is a sketchbook I bring to family gatherings. “Oh, look. An empty pastel pad.” I sigh as I pull out the sketchpad and the black paper notebook beside it. “These should be going in the studio.” I set them down beside me and fumble a frown. “Well, good. I’m organizing, but I still don’t have an idea.”

With another sigh, I lean back and stare around my room. Pastel drawings on the wall. Gaming figures on the shelf. A giant poster I made of my novel. Magic here. Dreams there. “I already did a post about that,” I mutter at a drawing of me. I spot my “Believe in the Magic” sign. “And I did one of that.” I groan. “Why am I coming up empty?!” I roll my eyes. “Probably because I’ve done over 200 webposts already.”

I get up and pace the room, my notebooks still scattered on the floor. “It’s Christmas Time. I should do something about that, but what can I do that I haven’t already done? I did Christmas movies. I did Christmas Carols. I did blessings and stories, and poems too!”

I plop down at my desk and stare at my computer. “I could try a prompt? See what’s on my old flashdrive? I could write a story? But what would have good conflict and plot?” I groan again and lay my head on my wrist beany thing. “Maybe this webpost should be a throw away? Not a lot of people are gonna read it anyway. It doesn’t have to be good quality, right?” Yet, in my head, I know I’m wrong. Everything needs to be good quality. How else would people take me seriously? “Two years I’ve been doing this. I’m trying my best.” I look up at my computer. The purple screen, waiting for words. “This site is supposed to support my novel. Guess I haven’t done that well, lately.”

My novel. It’s been on the backburner since I’m waiting on an editor. I should be working on the sequel. Reconnecting with my characters. “But I’m terrified,” I whisper. “I think the story’s great, but that’s my bias opinion. What if it’s really all wrong? What if I have to rewrite it…AGAIN?!”

I sigh again and an old scene creeps into my mind. One I cut ages ago. A character in conflict–God bless him. I love him. He’s leaned on a mantle, staring at flames. Nothing, at all, is going his way. He has one dream. One hope. One goal. And, it feels like everything’s out of control. The dream is the furthest it’s ever been and nothing good can come around the bend. Yet, in comes a friend, understanding his plight. He sits with and talks with him all night. Finally, a question passes his lips, something to my beloved get a grip. “Tell me, my friend, I know it’s late, but for this dream: how long are you willing to wait?” My beloved does sigh quite externally. He lifts his head and says. “I’d wait all through eternity.”

I sit at my computer, smiling to myself. “This webpost will be something else.”