Anne Tyler Lord

Fun: The Writer’s Life: Shifting Perspectives – Writer’s Cruise

The Love Boat is Sailing for our February Party

February and March can be challenging months to endure. I look out my window to piles of deep snow and the temps are dropping one more time. Even if you live where the weather is more pleasant, this can still be a difficult time of year when trying to stick to New Year’s resolutions.

Many people are starting to think about vacations in warm sunny places. So, our February party will be an ocean cruise through islands in the Pacific. Yeah, you heard me right – the Pacific. We will depart from a port in Hawaii. You can spend more time there when we return. But I have some special stops that will instill more love, laughter, adventure, and hope for smoother sailing ahead.

Here is a little fun and merriment to celebrate making it through another month of 2010.

Your Island Perspective

They say “no man is an island,” but it can feel that way sometimes in the writer’s life.

Have you felt a bit LOST? Has your life crashed on a scary island where nothing makes sense, a smoke monster chases you, time travel keeps throwing you back to the 1970’s and you don’t know who to trust, or even know who is really alive or dead?

See full episodes of LOST on ABC.

Or, has your muse turned on you and refused to talk?  Have you lived on an island as a Cast Away where your only friend left is just like Wilson (Chuck Noland’s (Tom Hanks) only friend on a deserted island)?  Loneliness can be overwhelming.

Love Boat

But, never fear, we are taking you far away from those islands today. We are setting sail on the Love Boat for our February party. This is a ship where all problems become solved by the end of the cruise. Here, you can shift your perspective. Look around, see the other people here, we are all taking the same trip. Let’s come out of our cabins, get to know each other, and have a good time.

There is an amazing crew waiting to serve you and give you advice for your problems.  Let me introduce you to Julie, our cruise director. We have arranged for you to eat all your meals at the captain’s table with Captain Stubing. And, Issac will serve you drinks while Gopher brings you anything you need. If you have an emergency, Doc will fix you right up, but women beware, he is quite frisky.

Watch full episodes of The Love Boat on CBS. Check out the 1970s clothes and hair.

Gilligan’s Island

The first stop on our island tour is Gilligan’s Island. It is time to let our hair down, frolic and play. On Gilligan’s Island it doesn’t matter if you make stupid mistakes. If you fail, your friends still love you. Tomorrow there is always hope of getting rescued if you just look for the next opportunity. There are many ways to have fun in the process even if you don’t like your current life circumstances. And, if that doesn’t work, you can always blame Gilligan. Let’s all enjoy the coconut cream pie and watch a few performances on Gilligan’s Island.

The Honey Bees – You Need Us

The Mosquitoes

You can see all the episodes of Gilligan’s Island for free at /Slash Control.

I suggest you start with The Producer where the cast performs a musical version of Hamlet.

Fantasy Island

The final stop on our cruise is Fantasy Island. This is a very special place where Mr. Roarke greets you in his white suit and Tatoo yells, “Da Plane, da plane!” to announce your arrival. They both work very hard to grant your wish. But, you must trust them. Sometimes they grant your wish in surprising ways. The important thing is that they have your best interests at heart and want you to leave the island a happier person. Sometimes we have to trust the universe to deliver just what we need at the right time. We can’t always see the bigger picture.

You can see episodes and excerpts of Fantasy Island at hulu and see more 1970s clothes and hair.

I hope you enjoyed the island cruise on the Love Boat. Feel free to stay aboard or hang out on the island of Hawaii. Add a little fun, adventure, love and trust in small ways in your life. Look around and see the people who care about you. Trust that the universe is working for your good. All you have to do is come out of your cabin, shift perspectives by visiting a different island and enjoy the cruise along the way.

Friday Check-In

How do you feel now that you are two months into 2010? Do you still have your resolutions in sight? Have you changed any resolutions? Is it getting harder? Let us know how you are doing in the comments. We are half-way through our four month resolution launch in#writerlbsOff for 2010.

It is getting harder now, so hang in there. Look for small ways to keep going.

We are all in the same boat!!


Posted

in

,

by

annetylerlord

Tags:

, , , , , , , , ,

Comments

11 responses to “Fun: The Writer’s Life: Shifting Perspectives – Writer’s Cruise”

  1. Deanna Schrayer

    Hi Anne,
    So sorry it’s taken me so long to stop by, but I’m glad I did. Interesting that we’re talking about Fantasy Island – we’re actually thinking about visiting the Carribean for vacation this year. If only the earthquakes will settle down and I can be knocked out for the entire plane ride it may be a go. Of course this is considering both my husband and I still have jobs….it’s kind of scary with all the lay offs going on.
    Anyway, I’m not doing so great at the moment, but I was this morning – at least until I fell flat on my hind-end at work, and of course it would have to happen on the only day I go in to the office to ensure there were many witnesses. Other than a little bruised pride though I think I’m all right.
    Writing-wise however, not that great. I believe I’m trying to tackle too much at once, which is never a good idea, no matter what it is we do. I may need to take a little time out in order to get back on track, but no rash decisions – I’ll think on it some more tomorrow.
    Congratulations on your weight loss! That is fantastic! And I know your writing will follow right along. I can’t imagine your creative bone would stay sore for very long.
    Here’s to a brighter tomorrow!

    1. Anne Tyler Lord

      Hi Deanna,

      Ouch! So sorry for the fall, you’ll probably feel weird pains for quite awhile. A Caribbean vacation – how wonderful! I can relate to the need to prioritize – so many great ideas, so limited time to get to them.

  2. G.P. Ching

    I am so sick of the freezing, snowy, February weather in my area, your post made me yearn for warmer climates. How many more weeks of winter?

    1. Anne Tyler Lord

      I agree! Winter is so over for me, now if only the snow & cold would listen!

  3. Cynthia Schuerr

    Well, 2 months already, WOW! We have hung in there together. I haven’t checked in the last 2 weeks because of time constraints. I find I am spending way too much time looking at this screen. So much so, that I am loosing track of my goal to submit my novel, by June. I am angry at myself because of it. I will let it go and if I am not ready until July or August, it will still be an accomplishment for me.

    I am still walking, whether indoor or outdoor, but I
    must admit that my eating habits haven’t been as healthy as I would like them to be. And I can feel the difference, immediately. My total weight loss is 23 lbs. So I am happy with that. But I have a lot more to go I have learned to be patient with myself.

    Anne, congrats on your accomplishments and thank you for this forum and all of your creative inspiration. I wish I could wave a magic wand to make you pain free.

    Laura, I’m with you about the 70’s clothes. Yuk!

    Now I am going to close my eyes and take myself to the island in my mind:-)

    1. Anne Tyler Lord

      Hi Cynthia,

      As we discussed on Twitter this morning, I am also trying to do less screen time. Don’t be angry at yourself – a month or two off is still amazing.

      That is a huge amount of weight loss for the first two months! Congratulations!

      Thanks for the magic wand – I think that is a wonderful idea!! We can pass it around!

      I’m so glad the 70’s are over, too. It is so distracting in some of these shows to watch just because of the clothes and hair.

      Observation to everyone – I can tell several of us have a few perfectionistic tendencies in this group of friends – including myself. We all want to have huge progress in every part of our life and I even want to control the weather. But, I am amazed by how much progress we have all reported in the past 8-9 weeks. When we make progress in one area, the others hang out and wait their turn! That is great!

  4. Laura Eno

    Congrats on your weight loss, Anne! I still haven’t lost but I haven’t gained either, so it’s progress.

    I wouldn’t mind stopping off at Fantasy Island during our cruise. 🙂 Just don’t make me wear those ’70’s clothes!

    1. Anne Tyler Lord

      Laura, yes, not gaining is great progress!

      I think those of us that write fiction visit Fantasy Island quite often.
      It would just be nice if the muse was Mr. Roarke, who grants our wishes, was ALWAYS there.

  5. Cole Bitting

    You say:

    I think that hanging in there and not giving up has been my biggest accomplishment for the two first months of the year.

    Hanging in there is perhaps the most underrated accomplishment ever. Well done!

    Did you know that saying “Professor” will improve your performance at Trivial Pursuit. There was a genuine, important psychology study to this effect.

    I had a thing for both Julie the cruise director and Mary Ann.

    1. Anne Tyler Lord

      Thanks Cole. I agree. Continuing to just keep going is an accomplishment, even if it is slow or holding still in some ways, it is still progress.

      There is a long-standing debate – Ginger vs. Mary Ann, I had fun reading about it. Here is a fun article:

      http://hubpages.com/hub/Ginger-Or-Mary-Ann-The-Eternal-Question

  6. Anne Tyler Lord

    I chose four months for the #writerlbsOff New Year’s Resolutions launch. Some research says it takes about 4 months to change habits, and I thought it would be nice to stick together through the cold, dreary months and come out in the spring time.

    Well, we have made it through the two most dreary months and some of us still have so much snow and ice. But we are getting closer. I expect a thaw where I live next week.

    I think that hanging in there and not giving up has been my biggest accomplishment for the two first months of the year. I have written more consistently than I have in years. And, the connections to my online community are my main source of motivation.

    So, creatively, my goals are moving along great. Although I am currently in a little bit of a worry-snit because my short stories are not flowing well. So, my goal of not freaking out when things are not working is a challenge. Self-doubt sneaks in easily and tries to convince me that my state is permanent.

    I am taking steps to move my body more and take time away from the screen to recharge my batteries.

    I have lost about 5 lbs, which is miraculous for me. I have yet another condition that makes weight loss very difficult. It is called PCOS – Poly-Cystic Ovarian Syndrome. I have so many conditions and syndromes it is hard to keep track. I have known about them for so many years that I don’t pay much attention to their impact in my life. I just manage from day to day.

    I think one of my new goals will be to look up the latest research on PCOS, chemical sensitivities, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue and pick out a few more tips that might move things along for me. I am hoping to increase energy as spring arrives.

    I can’t wait until I can take the kids out the nature preserves!

Leave a Reply