The Bra Street Rambler

Last week, I posted my response to an image circulating on Facebook that caught my attention. This week, I would like to do the same with a different image. The image this time was of a surprised and puzzled man. It was captioned: “New studies suggest that men really don’t understand women’s emotions.” Rather than feeling upset this time, I laughed. I felt this should have been obvious and gone without saying.  I quickly re-posted with my own caption: No guff! Hint: take the time to explain and Help them understand instead of getting upset with them and taking the ‘if you don’t know, I’m not telling you’ approach. In general, men have a very different thought process. It’s not because they are trying to ignore how you feel, they simply don’t see things the same way. Get to know the men around you, some of them would genuinely like to understand women better. Far too often for my comfort, I have witnessed someone asking a sincere question, only to be shot down f...

The other day while taking a break from my writing, I was scanning my Facebook newsfeed and stumbled across an image a friend had posted that caught me the wrong way. The post said: "If I ask you how you're doing, please just say, "good" and move on‎. Don't start telling me shit." At first I was upset at what was being expressed because in my mind, if you don't want the answer simply don't ask the question. In other words, don't pretend you care, if you don't. Then I got to thinking, that's the mentality that has developed into the social norm, isn't it? How many of us are guilty of asking "how are you?" without being invested in the answer? How many of us ask because it's a habit we have developed in conversation? So much so that often we will ask someone how they are doing, they will return the question, and we will ask again despite having already gone through the formality moments ago. We ask but we do...

So as some of you may know, I am currently neck deep in NaNoWriMo. As such, my thoughts are continuously on my book and my word count. Unfortunately, it can be pretty difficult when we are in the midst of something we are fully and joyfully engaged in, to pull our minds out of it and concentrate on anything else. So rather than trying to write something else while distracted, I’ve decided to share a few of the tricks I’ve been using to write my 30 day novel with any other aspiring novelists out there.  In NaNoWriMo, you are either a Pantser or a Planner . You either take your chances in real time, or plan the heck out of everything. I my friends, am a Planner .  Some people can sit down and write out three chapters with very little effort, my best friend as well as my mentor seem to have this ability. Personally, I am easily distracted and am prone to writers block. Knowing this, I have decided to take an approach that better accommodates my personality to ge...

In my last two posts, I mentioned the importance of putting yourself first and of challenging yourself. Two things we often neglect in our lives as we face the turbulence of day to day trials and tribulations. Today however, I turn the tides. Rather than offering up my own words, perspectives, and stories, I challenge you to do so for yourself. I dare you to write down a goal, a challenge you are issuing to yourself - with a deadline. I am also challenging you to look through old photographs with the goal of inspiring yourself. Find a photo that to you represents a time when you accomplished something challenging, a time when you felt you did something well, or a photo that brings to you a sense of self directed pride. If you can, I ask that you have it printed and framed. Put it up somewhere that you will see it on a daily basis. If for whatever reason, you cannot print and frame it, I ask that you find another way of ensuring that you will see it on a regular basis. Y...

I recently posted on the importance of challenging yourself and mentioned that I have joined NaNoWriMo. A few weeks ago, friend and mentor had encouraged me to attend a couple writers’ workshops with her leading up to November 1st which was the official start date of the novel writers challenge. Part of this workshop included a small challenge that was issued to write a few paragraphs with only a topic, image, or sentiment as inspiration. It's fascinating how someone who gets frequent writers block such as myself, is suddenly capable of spurting out a page the moment a topic and deadline is provided. All that is needed is that verbalized challenge and off I go. Challenge accepted. It's the same with a canvas. The white fabric remains bare and sitting in a corner until the moment I say, okay I have two hours to do something right now. I think creativity is a lot like a jumping off a cliff in that sense.  You can be standing on a the rocky ledge overlooking the ...

I do apologize to my readers for the delay in posting, I have been both terribly busy and under some level of stress that required I take a little time for myself. As an apology for being away for a while, I offer up three days of posts back to back, albeit slightly smaller ones than usual. Furthermore, I would like to say how very sincerely I appreciate seeing consistent page views from around the world despite my absence. You are all absolutely amazing and humble this blogger to the very core. Thank you so very much. You are all the reason I continue to post. On that note, a while back I wrote a post on the importance of taking time to care for oneself. This goes beyond pampering yourself, and it goes beyond making time to relax. It is just as important to make waves when the time calls for it. To stand firmly on your feet and say this is who I am, this is what I need in my life, and this is what I am going to do about it.  Too often, the nice guys finish last bec...