Planning a Project ( #AtoZChallenge )

Planning a party?   Hire Arlee as your party performer!  On the other hand, I can't make it to your party.  I have other plans...

Pointing the way is the first step on any journey.

       
          Lately I've begun assembling an array of notebooks, journals, and other items that will help me to plan.  For now, as I have indicated in previous posts, I am essentially still in a dreaming stage as I plot possibilities in my mind.  Occasionally I've jotted down lists, pondered mental timelines, and made notes of things that might occur to me.  And I've been writing down song lyrics--but more on that in an upcoming post.

          There are many sayings about the wisdom as well as the futility of making plans.  I don't need to fill up my thinking with negative quotes that might discourage me, but those positive quotations are not anything I need to dwell on either.  Right now I need to continue down the road of thoughtful planning--strategizing with the intent of making a dream come true and for plans to make sense.

          Whenever I set out on a trip I grab my road atlas in order to make the trip in my mind first.  Tracing the routes on the maps, I consider which places to stay the night, what highlights we should take time to visit, or which routing will save time and money.  After I've planned the route, I get online to book motel rooms and set up vacation holds on services like the mail.  If my plans are meticulously made, then the trip will likely be smoother with less worry.  Plans are never cinched for us, but they will usually accomplish what we need or want to do in an organized manner.

           I can get away with a lot of randomness and lack of certain direction on my blog, and often in life as well.  But when there is a project at stake--especially one where you have to count on others to help you accomplish what you set out to do--smart planning will facilitate that metaphorical journey that must be taken.

           Whether it be a road trip journey or a metaphorical journey of dreams, the planning is what facilitates the first leg of the journey--reaching the destination.  That destination is always a prelude to the next part of the journey, and the next.  Life involves continual planning as well as sometimes changing those plans.

             The wise thing to do is to anticipate what can go wrong and have back-up plans.  After all, as we all have discovered at some time or another, plans often go far differently than we hope or expect.  Once my basic plans have been laid out, then I will have to decide what do when it all turns out different.  And I can probably count on that happening.

            When has a well thought out plan gone down a totally different path than you thought it would?    Do you tend to meticulously plan things or do you prefer others to do the planning for you?  Have you ever taken off on a long road vacation without knowing where you were going to go and how long you were going to be gone?

         

The Flood (#BOTB)

           When our plans change, our world changes.  Then again, perspective makes the difference.

Things Change

          Like having to change horses in the middle of the flood, a technical problem forced me to use a different song in my Battle of the Bands post than I had originally intended to use.  And there was that flood in Houston.  I keep getting drawn back to the television to see what is going to happen next.  Ironic that a major natural disaster shifted some of the focus away from the nasty negative political scene.

          My silly little blogging glitch is so trivial compared to the catastrophic effects of Hurricane Harvey.   Since I live fifteen hundred miles from the problem, I am not directly threatened.  However, one of my daughters lives there with her family so I've been doubly concerned about the situation.  Fortunately their house made it through with no damage and they are scheduled to return to work on Tuesday.  Things are getting kind of back to normal--for some at least.

             To keep to the flood theme I've decided to use two songs with the word "flood" in their titles.  Hope you'll take a listen and then vote for your favorite.


Battle of the Bands

        Battle of the Bands is the blogging event started by Far Away Series and now hosted by StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands.   This event happens each month on the 15th and on some there is also a Battle on the 1st of the month.  My blog is one of those with a second Battle excepting over these summer months.   The premise is simple:  Listen to the songs presented below and then in the comments vote for your favorite and tell us why you liked it.  Then visit the links listed near the bottom of this post for more Battle action.


Take That  "The Flood"   (2010)

           I didn't recognize the title to this song when I first came across the following video, but as I listened I began to recognize the song as one I'd heard often.  Do you know this tune?   Take a listen and see what you think...




Jars of Clay  "Flood"  (1995)

           This song has gotten a lot of play in various places.  As an owner of several Jars of Clay albums I guess you could call me a fan.   This was one of the first "flood" songs that came to my mind...




Time to Vote!

        What do you think?  Do you have a preference between these two choices?   Hopefully you have an opinion of some kind. Which version do you like the best?   You don't have to know about music to have an opinion since it all comes down to your own personal taste.

        Please vote on your favorite by letting us know your choice in the comment section and tell us why you prefer the version you chose. Then after you've finished here, please visit the other blogs listed below who may or may not be participating this time around. And if you've put up your own BOTB contest let us know that as well so we can vote on yours.

Here are some other places where you might find BOTB posts (though this round I might be the only one):

 StMcC Presents Battle of the Bands

 ‘YOUR DAILY DOSE’ 

  'MIKE'S RAMBLINGS'

'Curious as a Cathy'

Sound of One Hand Typing

The Doglady's Den 

Angel's Bark  

Jingle, Jangle, Jungle 

Cherdo on the Flipside 


Winner of this Battle Announced on Friday September 8th

       Sorry I've been a bit scarce of late.  But I guess I haven't been the only one who has been off-line more than usual.  I've been tempted to write posts on so many things.  Maybe there are too many.  For now, besides next Friday's BOTB winner announcement, I will be posting for Insecure Writer's Support Group next Wednesday.

          Are you a good improviser?  How do you usually cope with change in your life?   Do you have anyone in Houston?  Or are you in the region hit by Harvey?  

And We're Off and Running...

         Or to be more precise, we're off and driving.  As this blog post goes up on site we'll be heading north toward Seattle and then in the days to come we'll arc across Canada as we wend our way to New Jersey.   We have a long route mapped out ahead of us, but within ten days we'll be enjoying a visit with our daughters and their families and especially our grandchildren.

          What this means as far as blogging goes is that I might be a bit more scarce at times.   I still plan to post my Battle of the Bands posts on the 1st and 15th of the months as well as hopefully timely BOTB results posts.   And I hope to have a few other scattered posts for #IWSG, Flashback Friday, and Question of the Month--those might be integrated into other posts if necessary.

           I'll still be trying to visit blogs as much as I can, but if you don't see me then you know what's up.   Things should be back to normal schedule after August 15th.

            Something of interest that caught my attention and might be of interest to some of you over age 50 is the announcement of Karen Walker's anthology on aging.  She wrote about it here if you'd like to submit something for consideration.  Sounds like a project that I might participate in if I can find the opportunity timewise after my trip.   Check it out to see if it might be of interest to you as well.

           Hope you are all having a safe and happy summer.   See you around!

          Oh, and if you missed my previous Battle of the Bands results you can find those here.

   

Are You Ready to Change Your Plans?

Bower Hill Plantation, West Bretton. These gates were to the Bretton Estate. There are plans to change the designation of this footpath to a road. Bellavista Plantation to the left (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

We must be willing to get rid of the life we've planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us." -- Joseph Campbell, American writer and mythologist        One of the biggest problems with planning ahead is that there are always forces lying in wait to screw things up for us.  It might be the weather, a health crisis, or some other unforeseen thing that broadsides us unexpectedly.  Back-up plans are always advised, but sometimes there is nothing else we can do other than accept what has come our way and adapt in order to continue on with our lives.         The alteration of little plans is inconsequential to us.  It's those big expectations that we formulate in our minds--plans for schooling, career, marriage, and family.    Dreams can be dashed or they may fade away, but when those dreams have  become plans and expectations we stride forward toward the goals we envision.  When a roadblock is put in our path, we have to make decisions.   We might even have to change our precious plans.          Using marriage as an example, most who sincerely go into this union are unlikely to do so with the expectations that it will be dissolved in some matter of time.  The typical couple will probably declare a love for one another and, if traditional vows are recited, will declare that love to the world as well as the intention to continue that love until death separates the two.           Over time people change and attitudes change accordingly.  There are times when the relationships are unable to weather those changes and the plans that were made or mentally assumed are disrupted.  Or even death can intervene to wreck the life that we were planning for the future.  A true permanency of human relationships is not something we can always count on.   No matter how strong our own sense of commitment might be, we might not be able to do anything at all to make things right as we see what we think should be right.          The examples in marriage can be applied to any other plans.  Your job.  Your educational pursuits.  The aspirations of fulfilling your dreams.  We cannot write our lives in words that hold any guarantees.  Our lives are written with words of hope and not promises.   Change can come at any time in our lives and the inevitability is that life will change--everyday, sometimes in imperceptible ways and at others with feelings of catastrophic doom.             We can't change where we've already been, but we can make route adjustments if the road is blocked or our destination is changed.    If we don't keep moving forward then we aren't going anywhere.           I'll be frank about my promotional intentions.  This post is a clue hinting toward my song choice for my Battle of the Bands post this coming Saturday November 15.   I'll admit that the song I'm using will be no piece of cake to guess, but the perceptive reader might be able to guess, especially anyone who knows this song I'll be using.   Here's another big hint:   The album the song originally comes from is named after a city.             Do you agree with Joseph Campbell's quote?    Are you a person who easily lets go or do you tend to fight to the finish even if the battle seems hopeless?      Can you guess the song I'll be using in my next BOTB post?    The artist? Tomorrow November 13th!  Big announcement at the A to Z Blog!     Be sure to visit a-to-zchallenge.com tomorrow and everyday!

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