R13, D17

[IslandGirl]

Once again, not much came up during the day. (I saw the same guy I mentioned yesterday, and after explaining - yet again - that I had no money, just granola bars, he walked away. Then I saw him again and he walked right by me, which was a relief.) Late in the afternoon, I finally scrounged in my bag and found a quarter, and I placed it on a wall for someone to find. That's all I had in there! 

[Edited to add: I completely forgot that I took a TON of goodies to the soup kitchen this morning! So I guess that was a gift... LOL]

It felt like kind of a lame gift. Just when I was wondering if I'd have to start this round over, I received an email from a friend who has entered her dog in an open casting call for a cell carrier (Fido) in Canada. Some of you may remember that last year, I had another friend who did the same thing (her Shih Tzu, Oscar, wasn't chosen). They've changed the voting this year, so it can only be done via Facebook app. I generally avoid all Facebook apps, and I avoid logging into sites with Facebook. I just don't like the idea of having all my online activity tracked. But I really wanted to do this for my friend, so I went ahead and authorized the app, and I voted.

If you don't mind Facebook apps and are up for giving a free gift, here's the link.  (That will be my other gift for the day - trying to help her get more votes.)

I spent most of the day working on this project, which is now almost done. I've gone well beyond what we originally agreed upon, and I've done it consciously, as a gift. I also know that if I'd stuck to the original parameters, the woman might not have fully understood my comments, nor how to make improvements; the evaluation would have come across as little more than criticism. Tomorrow, I need to edit the overall evaluation (12 pages), and then I'll send it off. There's one part of the agreement remaining, yet I don't think I can do that until she is further along in her process. 

The minute I finished marking up that project (inserting 600 comments into the body of the document), I received an email from my friend/client - the first I've really heard from her in three months (aside from responding to my emails and our exchanges during the time I wrote her husband's tribute). It was heartbreaking, and yet I'm so inspired by the grace with which she's handling all this devastation in her life (there's even more than I was aware of). I miss her terribly. It doesn't look like she's going to think about working again for at least another month, which is totally understandable...yet also makes me sad, in a selfish way. I miss working with her, having her be a part of my (more or less) daily life. And, of course, it would be nice to know that work is coming in. I know something will fill the gap, but I really miss our work together. There are only a few people (four, to be precise) who are part of my real-world "inner circle," and she's one - so I've felt her absence deeply and thought about her daily. 

I do want to get to writing my own book - but I still don't know how to frame it (there are so many possibilities - and I'm not sure how to differentiate it from other books out there). My instinct is that if I start working on it, the money will follow. So maybe that's what I'll focus on as soon as this project is delivered.

Hope you all had good Mondays. Cheers!

[Deb~ Community Manager]

Best of luck to you in all you do. I can't wait for you to begin the book.. xoxo

[Lois55 wwt]

I have every confidence that you will be able to focus more on your book once your project is done. I know you will figure it all out. In the meantime, you continue to find ways to give. Hugs, Sweet and generous Friend....xo