Velvet Verbosity

Distractions, obstacles, sickness, sun, work and obligations. It is a never ending merry-go-round.

So before you can think about that I didn’t post on Sunday as I had planned, let me distract you with this week’s submissions for 100 Words on Distraction.

The Wandering Author was so inspired by distraction that he wrote TWO submissions. Rock on WA! I loved the irony of the first one.

Distraction

Eyes on the controls before him, Thurman struggled to concentrate on the reaction he was expected to monitor and control. Distraction is your enemy. They’d drilled that into him during training. Distraction kills. Making the continual necessary corrections was nearly impossible even with the reminder. One of the visiting bigwigs had brought an assistant, a tall, lushly built redhead in a dress that concealed little more than it had to. One glimpse left him hopelessly aware of her presence. She leaned over his shoulder, curious. Thurman had just time to think distraction kills as the fireball incinerated the control room.

Distraction

It is best to avoid distraction while writing, lest some catchy jingle such as Nothing But Gingerbread Left disrupt the flow of your thoughts. If you are distracted, the result may be a very good cat, with whole phrases or sentences nonsensical or out of place. If you do find yourself with nothing but gingerbread left, you may be forced to discard whole paragraphs you’ve written. It can be difficult to pet a purring cat in your lap while typing, or reconstruct your ideas later. A distracted writer is a catnip carrot. Only those who can concentrate should eat gingerbread.

Lceel, that clever guy, wrote this delightful 100 Words on a certain weekday morning distraction.

“Where are you going?”
“I have to get up and go to work.”
“Can’t you just cuddle for a little while?”
“Well, okay, just for a few minutes though. I have to get ready.”
“Well? Get a little closer.”
“How’s this?”
“Better. But put your hands here … warm me up.”
“Warm you up? How is putting my hands there going to warm you up?”
“Not there, silly. THERE.”
“Oh .. okay .. you know, I really don’t have time for this.”
“But I’m feeling so much warmer now.”
“Yeah .. me, too.”
“Do you REALLY have to go?”
“Well .. maybe not this minute ….”

The Night Blogger is new to 100 Words, and a High School student. It’s a cheerful thing to know that there are students who still take an interest in writing. Please hop over to Night Blogger and show your support.

In the front of the classroom is a drone; the buzzing of a thousand killer bees. I ignore it. Why pay attention? Test tomorrow. I force my eyes to the whiteboard but the squiggly red lines dance continuously like some obscure African ritual. It’s not the sunlight outside that’s so tempting. It’s the clouds. I want to jump in the puddles, though I’m trapped here with learning shoved down my throat. It is such a pleasant distraction. I can’t help but want to touch that rainy sunless sky with fingers far too short to reach so far into the heavens.

Secret Agent Mama, though not a High School Student in real life, plays one on her blog reminding us how fulsome life was during adolescence.

A million thoughts race. A hundred-thousand feelings surge. A thousand regrets weigh heavily. A hundred tears fall mercilessly. All because of you.

I’m careless.
I’m fearful.
I’m clumsy.
I’m numb.
I cannot understand why you fluster me so!

Why won’t my mind put you to rest? Why can’t I just let go? Why do I torture myself so? Why is this so hard?

These thoughts, my feelings, rugged regrets, bitter tears; they are going to be irrelevant one day, I’m sure. However, now they bountiful and it’s a p p a r e n t that I need a new distraction in my [teenage] life.

Sadie is back trying to distract us from our lives. As they say, Distraction loves company.

Dishes, Laundry, Beds to be made, Children to be fed –

Oooh, look! It’s So You Think You can Dance! Premiering tonight!

Dinner dishes sitting, dishwater cooling, piles of laundry to be folded –

Did I update my blogs today? Oh, computer, you suck me in – look! – Fussy posted pictures! Jennifer’s making me giggle again! Oh dear, and Holly is being animated again! How can I compete? Do I need a new layout? Look at the new games available!

Wait – it’s one in the morning! Crap, and I still have a messy house, and my family is asleep. What did I miss?

Welcome to JM’s “Monkey Mind”. Don’t get distracted!

I came here to… Man. I really don’t want to. I mean, there is no reason not to, but I’d just rather…

Crap. Did I take… Yeah. I can see it from here. On the couch. Hm. Maybe that’s the problem. I should be at…

What was that noise? I could have sworn it was… Yeah, maybe not. I always did have an active imagination. Maybe that’s why I collect all those funky…

Ew. Dust. I definitely – Oh! I haven’t put away the laundry. Man! I should have done that…

Why am…

Oh, yeah. I have a book to write.

You have to visit Mr. Lady to see the picture that accompanies this post! Priceless.

We rose from dinner, boys running outside to indulge in the last of the fleeting sunlight, baby off to play. Once the evening tea was brewed, a few minutes of quiet fell over the house. Beds waited to be turned, dishes waited to be washed, but even I could not resist the cool evening air, the still of twilight, the crisp night air of spring.

I stepped out on my deck, tea in hand, and soaked in the first moments of peace the day saw fit to bring. It’s a good thing the baby can find things to keep herself occupied.

Sassy Mama Bear, our resident poet, gives us another gem.

Drifting away, leaving
Like a balloon floating on the wind
into the great blue sky…

I try to focus, think
come back to the here and now
to stop being distracted…

Yet my imagination rules
the creative juices flow
as my mind drifts away…

Silly thoughts, fears, worries
Manuscripts written in my mind
Never pen and paper to meet…

I am most lost to this
journey of distraction, and attraction
at the time when…

Sleep is just about
to take control of my soul
the pillow is my cloud…

Dreams while awake,
Not having memory come morning
A regrettable mistake.
~ Penelope Anne Bartotto
May 24, 2008

This week’s challenge (see here for details on how you can play) is from Shadows of the Mind by Roger Penrose. A book on the science of consciousness, because yeah, I’m a geek like that.

Against