"Write this down ... it's gonna be good"

I often wonder what makes a statement a quote. Does the person saying it know that the words coming out of their mouths will be copied down and repeated by others for generations?

Do they plan on saying it, practicing it over and over again until they line up the words just right?

Here are a few random quotes, some that make me laugh, some that make me think, and others that just need repeating:

"One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself." -Lucille Ball

"I have a higher and grander standard of principle that George Washington. He could not lie; I can, but I won't." -Mark Twain

"A lady's imagination is very rapid; it jumps from admiration to love, from love to matrimony in a moment." - Jane Austen

"Wishing will never be a substitute for prayer." -Ed Cole

"Everyman's life is a fairy tale written by God's fingers." -Hans Christian Anderson

"Tell me I'm clever; tell me I'm kind; tell me I'm talented; tell me I'm cute; tell me I'm sensitive, graceful and wise; tell me I'm perfect -- But tell me the truth." -Shel Silverstein

Oh my poor neglected little blog...

I hate to say this, but sometimes I have to remind myself, "Hey, Megan," I begin, "remember you love to write. So why don't you do it?"

"I know, I know," I respond to myself. "But what should I write about?"

"You'll think of something," I say.

"But what if it's terrible?"

"But what if it's not? What if it's something truly great and funny and will earn you acclaim and millions of dollars?"

"You're right! I better get to work!"

And then I proceed to stare at my computer for the next three hours, hammer out a few pages and call it a day. And then never work on that particular piece again. (I'm really glad the characters I create aren't real people because it would be like creating a head without finishing the body. I'd have all these bodiless people rolling around and who would really hate me.)

This process is repeated about every few months, and, as you can tell with the sparsity of my blogs as late, now is the time to start all over again. I'd like to say I'm back by popular demand, but really only two people have asked me about my lack of blogging.

I've been thinking as a writer, I'm a bit guarded. There are some things I'd like to write about in this blog, but then I realize, people will then know that about me. That I'm a person with thoughts and feelings?! The horror!

I know should make myself more vulnerable and will make that happen. However, expect it to be a slow and painful process.

Very slow, because this is all you're getting out of me for now.

Word dreams

I can't remember what I dreamt about last night. All I know is that when I woke up, the word "pontificate," was all I could remember.

I didn't even know I knew that word, or if it even was a word, but I had a feeling of what it meant.

Pontificate stayed on my mind all day, and I just looked it up, and I was right:

Main Entry:
2pon·tif·i·cate
Pronunciation:
\pän-ˈti-fə-ˌkāt\
Function:
intransitive verb 2: to speak or express opinions in a pompous or dogmatic way

(courtesy Merriam-Webster.com)

Who dreams about words? It was a first for me. But after careful thought, I traced the word back to all of the "Cheers" reruns I watched yesterday. "Pontificate" must have come out of Diane Chambers' mouth during her one of many tangents. When she was pontificating, if you will.

And then it hit me...

I watched waaay too many "Cheers" episodes yesterday.