Aaah - Cubicle Life!

Terran_Nytefyer just wrote Ah, Cubicle Life! on Protagonize.

Just couldn't resist posting for Message 1 Urgent!
Well, it is meant to be play.

Monster Hour Got Branched!

Yup -- Monster Hour Got Branched. I've written something that folks like enough to add branches to -- which is the whole fun point of playing at Protagonize.

It's dawned on me, tho, that spending myself as I've been doing between playtime at Protagonize and experimenting here at Burndtree -- not forgetting the day job what pays them bills! -- hasn't left me feeling much like the Energizer bunny, with energy remaining to burn doing actual works in progress. And there are a few.

No huge revelation -- nada traumatic -- only one lesson in many I expect. Time to exercise a little self-discipline. Difficult -- when I'm having so much fun.

Warning: R.O.V. No Driver

So. How far can I go, before what I say in this blog, "in public" in other words, becomes libelous? I won't be goin' cutesy, nor clever in anything I say here. I'm angry - REALLY want to ... Whoa, there now, Buddy! Seditious talk's as big a No-No (in non-fiction). They're all just politicians, and big-business types that associate with politicians. They're all just doing what comes naturally to both species. And only taking full and perfectly legal advantage of holes or provisions in legislation that generations of other politicos wracked their combined brains over, for the good of the country, and love of the citizens -- their actual employers -- who pay their salaries, and job-related expenses, and pensions.

I am being cutesy. Just the facts, then:

Translink purview (Vancouver area Transit Authority): Using an operating budget in the billions of dollars, run a transit system, plan and implement improvements and/or expansion, and raise more billions for the next operating budget, so they don't run out.

Up until the end of 2007, Translink was administered by a board of directors gleaned from public office: area mayors, city-councilors, the like. Elected … uh yeah – as in Elected to public office in whichever municipality they arose – however, the mandate for these, for the chosen, somehow grew to encompass serving on Translink. Actually, there were no plebiscites: they were appointed, by a body once known as the GVRD (now Metro Vancouver) – Woohoo! Wonder how much of their budget went to coming up with that name change?!

At the end of 2007, Victoria (our next-up rind of the government onion) dissolved the Translink board of appointees gleaned from political office, and replaced them with appointees gleaned from big business. I shall call this board "Board B", just because.

It's only logical to presume that business folk should have a good grasp of spending money wisely -- as in Getting the biggest bang for the buck. A reasonable expectation in regard to Board B. Time will tell. It has only been a bit more than one month in.

Board B already has managed to raise public ire: enough meetings held in camera, because the unwashed citizenry screaming from the floor makes it that much more time-consuming to pass edicts, and pass over the unimportant.

And now, one month in, the directors of Board B are GETTING A RAISE! -- and one to write home about, as folks used to say.

I need to check facts, but the face filling the teevee that's saying he's got no problem with this is a former Vancouver mayor -- a left-winger -- and friend of the people.

[Tick tock … Time passes].

Turns out he’s Chair of some “steering committee”, which has the blessing of our Provincial Government, et cetera. Simply: a provision in legislation essentially compels Board B to accept the raise without complaint.

Here's the kicker: New Year's 2008 saw transit fare increases!

Finding Protagonize!

I’ve edited this three times - re-written this three times - in as many days.

First time - after finding Protagonize, profiled on CBC Online’s Arts and Entertainment. A collaborative writing playground. Someone starts a story and others add to it. Sounded like so much fun - I had to join.

Second edit - after reading my member profile and taking it like a dare - that I’d written nothing, commented on no one, and had no one comment on me - so I wrote something.

Third edit. Someone liked my seed of a story. No takers on my clumsy branches, tho, or not yet. Didn’t seem right to add to one of my own branches, though I had words scribbled: Play and Collaborating being the Why’s we’re all in there (prob’ly only add my little grafting if Somebody’s Dream withers in the nursery).

Third edit had to be because it was month’s ending at work, billings to calculate and go out, six on a Friday night and all alone and needing my little break - so, munching my O’Henry bar leftover from a Christmas gift basket, savouring hot milky tea, I browsed on over again to Protagonize, and to shorten an out-of-control sentence added a branch to The Castle, by Bexter. About fifty minutes later. Kinda lost track of time there.

Right - right - the link, sorry - http://www.protagonize.com/.

Joining Protagonize takes seconds. I’ve held my breath longer. You can then fill in your author profile: add a picture, blurb about who you are and what you want to do, and link to your website, so folks can see more of you if they want.

Adding your own story is simple and easy, too. Starting with a title. Then typing in all those words(or Copy-Pasting something you‘ve prepared elsewhere on your computer). Almost done - you must add at least two possible directions the story can branch toward - for the next writer to continue. Add a tag line: some hooking phrase. Select PUBLISH.

Adding a branch essentially is the same. Select the story branch you’d like to play with. Write until done. Add your own story branches and leave it for the next person.

I did feel a bit intimidated to start: all these people writing and adding to each other’s writing - and little ol’ me presuming to join in. Haven’t played with collaborative writing like this outside of elementary school. Started reading JunkWorld, by Gaelythe. Couldn’t concentrate on it, because it was lunchtime at work. Felt queasy about trying any branches: What if I can’t get the author’s tone right? - And make a mess of it! That night, at home, stepping out of the shower - really the whole of Somebody’s Dream came to me - in the time it took for the steam to clear off the bathroom mirror. Pity that what I had didn’t fit JunkWorld at all. So I came by my first story for Protagonize.

Still don’t know if I’m doing it right. Figuring that I’ll be forgiven any clumsiness so long as I’m polite - oh, and playful.

Just imagine it - possibly THE most play filled writers’ workshop - maybe learn some new things, maybe a lot - watching how others work the magic - and, together, making worlds from our words!

7:55

7:55

-- cutting my only road

through gravel spit

-- leftside of orange roadwork

diamonds seven days in the

only bikeway on Vancouver

Airport

and I'm an engine smoking this January morning

-- dumb steel monsters cornering on my shoulder.

Cartoon cut-out flag gal looking away inside her smoking white van,
warm as in her house.

Out of the Blue

Haven't we all experienced this?

Thinking about some distant pal: suddenly distant pal phones, shows up, seemingly out of the blue. Okay -- even if looking for a loan.

Maybe we call this coincidence.

Or -- say it's one of those days -- crazily busy -- and we're hurtling through it -- cussing under our breath that we can't even catch our breath, let alone lunch -- but, at day's end, seeing the whole of the day that happened, see that only after done with Job1 did Job2 show up to be worked next. Likewise for Jobs 3 and 4. Like somewhere some unseen dispatcher was waving in each part of the day, but only exactly when I was ready for it. Only that at the time it hadn't felt like help -- all those coincidences.

Just last night, searching for longago scribbled notes perhaps for writing into something else -- some at the time interesting observations about myself while playing Fable Lost Chapters -- and having only the vaguest map in mind of where I stashed those notes, I started in on the likeliest: papers piled up three inches (which I had intended to organize sometime). After ten minutes of turning paper, glancing and skimming passages, I was ready to try the other approach: stuck in my fingers about three-quarters of the height and flipped the thing over.

Uhuh -- I kid you not! -- EXACTLY in my notes where the Fable stuff started.

Smiled. Made that little hmmph!, indicative of only mildest surprise, mixed with contentment. I've not been creeped out by this kind of happening for a long time.

Don't know where it comes from. Call it the Hand of God made manifest. Fate. Karma. Some cosmic alignment. Meaningful coincidence, or not. Maybe it is just brain wiring -- the map there all along inside that ninety percent of grey matter I don't have the key to -- and perhaps I just triggered the memory without knowing how, and so call it magical.

I won't presume to know. Perhaps it's best just to note its occurence in a little life and smile at the mystery of it -- so it doesn't turn off.

And say Thanks.

Just a Test

Thought I'd be clever and try some of this Auto-Posting I've heard about --but, of course, haven't begun to research -- even now haven't gone searching for in Blogger Help -- however, since I'm in here anyway, removing my auto-post test-post (which did not work), just figured I might as well post this for the practice.

Prob'ly delete this later. For now, and here, this is typing practice -- or better -- thinking exercise -- writing on my feet, or scribbling.

Work eats up the week: leaves me wasted most evenings. Weekends just aren't long enough: should go three days, at least. And weekends are usually when I can post, which leaves those five days following when this little place in cyberspace fades, then vanishes from the search engines. Okay, call it vanity: I've gotten fond of posting - seeing me pop up in a google search! But I don't want to post empty This is what I had for Breakfast stuff.

So - Why not try this Auto-Posting? - Schedule something already prepared that will automatically post on a particular day. Sounds a nifty and useful little tool. Figured I could suss it out just by doing, or rather trying, just like some guy trying to assemble some assembly-required furniture -- and the manual's right here -- but he's certain he doesn't need it.

So I typed the test-post -- went into the post options' sub-menu beneath the post window -- set a future date and time -- then saved the post and had a look in Edit Posts.

Saw my test-post had saved as a draft -- which set groggy me mumbling This ain't gonna work -- because, logically, a draft is a document being worked on, not ready, and not okay'd to publish.

Still, figured I'd just let it sit, let the clock tick-tock and world turn -- until it posts, or doesn't, come the hoped for moment. I had no time at the time to search out any how-to: one-a.m., Monday morn, and I had to be up at six-thirty for work. And it wasn't anything that HAD to be posted --just a test.