Express Yourself

Be who you are and say how you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.
--Dr. Seuss

Saturday, December 26, 2015

Geico Commercials

I found this video from YouTube of coveted Geico commercials. I love Geico commercials because they are always funny!  Enjoy!  (This leaves me with 12 more post until I reach my goal of 600.)

13 more posts until January 2016

I can't believe that it is almost January and that we will be in the year 2016. That is crazy to me!  I know that it will take me some time to get used to writing 2016. I will give myself a month or so to acclimate myself to '16.

I love watching commercials, especially Geico commercials. I need 13 more posts to make my goal of 600 posts before January 1st, 2016. I leave you with the new Spy Geico Commercial. It was quite clever. I wonder if my daughter ever thinks that I call at the most inopportune time like this guy does. I like the Zumba reference. It is quite funny!


Weather

I really wish the weather would change. It was tough to go outside on Christmas. It wasn't that I felt the frigid vortex of a blizzard. I wasn't snowed in or iced out. Nope! It as eighty-two degrees as I headed for church and it was 7:30 pm in the evening! It felt so humid and disgusting!  That is life in the South! Some years we get normal December weather where sweaters and sweatshirts are normal. Other years, we get this kind of non seasonal weather. I have been running my air conditioner so that it can feel like Christmas in my house.

When I leave my house, I take off my sweater and don a t-shirt. It feels rather disgusting. There is good news on the way. I hear by tomorrow night, a cold front is on its way and we will experience lows in the thirties.  That will be nice for the season.  That is more like it!

Wednesday, December 23, 2015

Left In, Left Out! Revisited

I wrote a poem called Left In, Left Out sometime last year. It is great to go back and see what I was thinking and feeling. At that time last year, I experienced complete frustration and disillusionment. There were many things pulling at me and I  tried to make sense of it through my poetry. Boy, what a difference a year makes! Thank God Almighty, I have been set free! I tried to take my poem from last year and revise it, based on time and its ability to heal all wounds. Here's my poor attempt at doing that! Writing is so cathartic.

Left In, Out-Gone!
by Maureen Ucles

Left in,
Left out
Year later
found my place
made me wanna
scream
now
a whisper
Can you hear me
now?
You?
Don't really care
anymore
in the least
have
time to chill
learning how
peace


Makes no sense
not in the least
these decisions
 left in
 mostly, 
mostly... out
But it's okay
as I peer into
my present
without ya
 another place
feels safe
staying here


Why me?
What had I done?
Left it all on the floor
but...
don't care anymore
you're removed
by
smiling faces
appreciations
brilliant minds



Left in...left out
 gone
 let go
forged a new path
for me
with others

Left this
 tired, 
sorry
 scene
evacuated
gone
moving forward
my momentum
wind at my back
Like Stella,
got my groove 
Left in?
I'm out!
Adios!
Bye-bye!

Not to be continued,

Making Lemonade

Making Lemonade-Revisited

By Maureen Ucles

Lemonade, Lemonade
Sitting on a makeshift table
please come forth
make yourself known
with your acidity
pH factor
so sour, sour
sourrowful

Lemonade, Lemonade
Sitting in the hot,
hot Summer Sun
Not too tart
Not too sweet
better than Country Time
Hand made
squeezed, squeezed
to perfection
guts and all
completely spent
sprinkled with
a little zest

Lemonade, lemonade
How many lemons  
gone and sacrificed
for you?
A few seeds 
seeped through
ice cold
to the touch
while you simmer
I muse
peer into...

Lemonade, Lemonade
was it worth it all?
Countless lemons
used and abused
peel and all
thrown away
forgotten
Worth the effort?
Blood, sweat, and tears?
So many years
devoted to
the making
of...of
you
For today
gone tomorrow
fleeting
 sweet, sweet
sorrow
to behold
if only
for an 
instant

Lemonade, Lemonade
Can you make it here?
Can you make it there?
Does anyone really 
care?
Cool winds  
blowing
breeze
showing
me knowing...
I,
 like you
making
lemonade

Lemonade, Lemonade
givin' up--
no more fear
Hey,
ya never know
could be
new frontiers?
Peering through
crystal prisms
new points of view
after endless
slamming of doors
windows are
 wide open
my soul's 
a' searching
me perching
lookin' in
ain't no sin
just me
drinking it up
my life
my lemonade
Ahhh!





Polyps

I went to get an endoscopy today. It took quite some time. I arrived an hour and a half early. I waited about three hours until the procedure. Since I hadn't eaten or had anything to drink since midnight, I was quite thirsty and hungry. Finally, I was wheeled into the procedure room. The antastecia kicked in rather quickly. While in the recovery room, my daughter filmed me in my loopy state. I thought I was inputting grades into an invisible computer.

I have to go see my gastrointerologist in about a three weeks to see the results of some polyps that he found in my esophagus. He clipped a few during the biopsy. He didn't seem too concerned because he said most polyps are benign. Other than that, I have some minor stomach irritation. I was glad to hear that since I thought I had an ulcer. I have been suffering from stomach discomfort since August.

What a way to spend December 23rd! I still have one more day to shop. I will have to do that tomorrow morning. I can't wait for my daughter to see what I bought her! 

Now, I have only 13 more posts until 2016!  

Tuesday, December 22, 2015

The Value of Writing-A Face Book Prize-from the Archives

I brought this post back from the land of the drafts.  I believe it might be about a year and half old. Since I previously posted this, I have learned so much more about the power of writing. Reading several books about writing including Acts of Teaching, On Writing Well, and studying Janet Emig's work has had a profound impact on my thinking. Writing is so very important!

I woke up this morning and grabbed my phone.  I noticed that I forgot to charge it last night.  There was still some battery left, so I took a gander.  Drawn to Alana Morris' post today, I read on and on. It is so TRUE!  I couldn't have said it any better.  I copied and pasted the quote for you to read.

Writing is thinking made tangible, thinking that can be examined because it is on the page and not in the head, invisible floating around. Writing is thinking that can be stopped and tinkered with. It is a way of holding thought still long enough to examine its structures, its possibilities, its flaws. The road to a clearer understanding of one's thoughts is traveled on paper. It is through an attempt to find words for ourselves in which to express related ideas that we often discover what we think."
---J.Gage Why Write?

 Writing is a tool for thought, generative in nature, great for processing, creating, evaluating, and understanding. Writing, as a tool, engages many areas of the brain at once. 

I am a writing apologist.  For some, it is that red headed step child left on the stoop by accident.  It is the umbrella placed in the closet in Death Valley. It is...discarded completely.  If we only understood the power of writing, then we would incorporate it into everything that we do. My wish is that more people (teachers) would become more enlightened with regards to the the power of writing and actually try it out for themselves.  By doing so, one can begin to  see the value of it.  






Marioneta Revisited

Marioneta
por Maureen Ucles

Soy marioneta
Nada más
Nada menos
En tus manos
me quedo
encajada
todo el santo día
sin luz--
vida

Soy marioneta
sufriendo tanto
no hablo
me quedo mudo
sin movimiento
ninguno

Soy marioneta
hazme mover
hazme creer
en tus intenciones
tal vez
maldiciones
¿para qué?

Soy marioneta
con una sonrisa
falsa
fingiendo...
sin movimiento
hasta que me lo digas
encarcelada...
nunca libre
para expresarme
callada
callada
pálida
sufriendo
sin cesar

Soy marioneta
hice lo que
me dice
¿por cuantos siglos
eh?
Pero,  ¿para qué?

Tu rompiste
mi corazón
mi corazón de madera
quebrada en pedazos
pedazos, pedazos
aun que
invisibles…
pero,
¿para qué?

Soy marioneta
a ver
cuando
me vas a  librarme
de estas esposas,
grilletes
hazme libre
por favoricito
quisiera
expresarme...
mis pensamientos 
muy profundos
en mi propia
idioma
mi cultura
con mi gente
que me conoce
bien, bien, bien
pero 
soy marioneta
pero,


…¿para qué?

What?

What?
M Ucles

I said what?
What you say?
I say what?
Can't quite hear ya
Too much static
No I am not there
In my attic
trying to find some
peace without...
I said what?
Don't know what to say
To respond to you

I said what?
Can't listen?
Got cotton in my ears
Hear you?
Please
I put you 
officially 
on mute!

I said what?
Can't do this anymore
sportin' my Bose buds
Noise cancelling?
Ever heard of them?
What?
Volume is maxed out
What?
Do I look as if?
No
No
I don't care

I said what?
Leave me alone
stop flapping those
gums
Don't cha get it?
I am not hearing 
endearing 
befriending you

What?
Shut the door
Go on out
Lock the door
 Throw away the key
Leave me
Just leave me
be

Read my lips
taxing?
Don't want
Can't take
Not fakin'
For real
Get going
I'm deaf

Sign language?
I am blind
Text to talk?
No bars
the battery is dead
didn't pay the electric bill
The lights are out
No one is home!
I am evicted
No return address?
No return at all
Left the planet
live on the moon
No
don't visit
can't hear you 
No air
Remember?
You still here?
C'mon now


Said what?
Paying you no mind
No offense
taken
given
I am invisible
Yesterday's news
Gone, gone, gone
What?
Ugh!

Just Stop!

Just Stop!
by Maureen Ucles

No really
Just stop
Stop it now!
Stop all of it!
Some of it?
None of it?
You have got to be...
No, for real
Stop it!
Halt it!
Move it out!
To Siberia!
To Nigeria!
To Blissfiria!
Stratopheria!
Just STOP!
Outta here!

STOP!
The insanity!
Your vanity!
Vileness
Kinda pile-ness
on me!
Leave!
STOP!
Blabbering!
Gabbering!
Feathering!
Trumpeting!
Stumpeting!
STOP!
BASTA YA!

STOP
I can't take it!
Can't fake it!
Want to hurl!
Vomit!
Throw it up!
Down!
Down!
Down!
All around!
STOP
IT!
it

STOP 
your incessant
piping off
wiping off
your residue
on all the new
and old
We are past tired!
Past tired and sick!
Enferma?
I am terminal
Terminally
Fatally
Weighted down
by your...
Do I need to continue?
Don't answer!

STOP!
STOP!
STOP!
YA!
No mas!

Blah! Blah! Blah!



Blah! Blah! Blah!
By Maureen Ucles

Sit up!
Pretend you are listening!
To what?
For whom?
No!
Shhh!
You are listening!
Smile
Make eye contact
Write down some things
Like what?
What they say?
Who?
The talking heads!
The important ones
In the middle
With the fancy pens
Monogrammed
Clicky!
Leather organizer!
Write it down!
Now!
Sounds?
Nod your head!
Bow!
Agree!
Write!
Look up!
Take notes!
Noises


For what?
What am I listening for?
Shhh!
I hear voices!
Where?
What am I listening for?
Shhh!
To the door
Creaking
Breaking
Opening!
Oh no!
The meeting!
Everyone is here
Look down
Smile
Write down
Shhh!
Sit up!

It has begun!
What?
The meeting!
Sit up!
Take notes!
Important notes!
No!
Shhh!
I wasn't talking!
Listening to...
the voices
I hear voices
Choices?
No voices!
Do you hear voices?

Something is going on
Talking heads
Blah! Blah! Blah!
Shhh!
What?
Stop it!
Laugh now
Smile
Agree
Nod your head
Everyone is laughing
Laugh again
Eye contact
Look down
Look intense
Agree
Shhh!
Stop!
Leave me alone!
Did you get that?
What?
The voices?
Yeah!
Did you write it down?
What?
The noise!
Stop doodling and listen!
Grow up, would you?
What?
Leave me alone!
What?
Write?
What?
What did they say?
Blah! Blah! Blah!
More like
Yada, Yada, Yada
No!
More like
Charlie Brown's teacher
What what what wa wa
Don't be disrespectful!
Listen!
Write it down!
Did you get that?
Sure!
Shhh!
Listen!
I gotta go!
I can't hear myself think!
Yada, yada, yada!
Sit down!
We aren't done!
Pray!
Meditate!
Look interested!
Blah! Blah! Blah!
Get that?
Sure
Smile
Nod
Write
Smile
Nod 
Write
Bow!
Are we done yet?
Not quite!
No one has moved!
Moved?
When someone gets up!
We can go?
No one is moving!
Sit down!
Not you!

I saw it!
What?
Someone moved!
No, that is changing posture!
Doesn't count!
Shoot!
Now?
No
There's a pause
Laugh!
Laugh!
Smile
Nod
No questions, okay?
Questions?
Write it down!
The last thing!
Okay!
The move!
Get up!
No eye contact!
Smile
Say thanks!
High tail it out!
We are done!
Yada, yada, yada!
Phew!
No
Don't listen!
Act like you didn't hear!
 No!
Don't go back!
You'll never leave!
Awww!
More
Yada, yada, yada!