MENUMENU
  • About
  • Buy
  • Press
  • Book Clubs
  • Writer Resources
  • Allie Larkin
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • g

Allison Larkin

Internationally Best-Selling Author

You are here: Home / life / I am not rocking the ‘tober.

I am not rocking the ‘tober.

October 16, 2008 Filed Under: life

Question: So, how hard was my Rocktober fest pledge?

Answer: Not very.

Have I actually done anything resembling taking 20 minutes a day every day away from the computer/dog/cat/husband/phone? No.

On the day I took the pledge, I decided to go for a walk by myself to take in the changing leaves. But then Argo started getting all excited when I went for my shoes and I just didn’t have the heart to tell him he wasn’t invited, so I took him with me and the walk was all about trying to keep him from licking trees and fire hydrants.

For several days, I forgot about my pledge completely.

On Monday, I sat down and played guitar – something I haven’t done in years – and thought, okay, this is what I will do with my Rocktober pledge. It’s concrete. It’s not just this amorphous, I’ll spend time with me thing. I’ll spend time playing guitar. I’ll learn a few more chords. Side note, I’m not good, and I never have been. I know about 4 chords total. It even appealed to my practical side, because I convinced myself that it was research for my folk singer project. I mean, my MC plays the guitar, so maybe if I get back to playing, it will enhance my writing. I got all excited about the new plan.

Then, I promptly forgot all about Rocktoberfest again until just now.

FAIL.

Why is it that I can’t do things for me? Does anyone else have this problem?

And yes, I realize in the time I took to write this post, I could have been playing guitar.

6 Comments

Comments

  1. nancypearlwannabe says

    October 17, 2008 at 1:24 pm

    I guess blogging time is for you, too. Does that help? I think a long fall walk is in the cards for this afternoon and I wish I had a dog to bring along with me!

    Reply
  2. Mickey says

    October 17, 2008 at 6:52 pm

    I do not have that problem. Actually, my problem is probably that it’s all about me, everyday. I need to get outside myself.

    Reply
  3. Dash says

    October 18, 2008 at 5:51 am

    I’ve heard you play guitar…and you are good. So keep it up.

    Reply
  4. The Modern Gal says

    October 18, 2008 at 7:16 pm

    Awww, Rocktoberfest is more about the attitude than what you actually do to celebrate. Your success with the eighth graders was pure Rocktoberfestedness.

    I’m with Mickey, though. I have the exact opposite problem.

    Reply
  5. Melissa says

    October 19, 2008 at 1:42 pm

    Personally, I wish I would do yoga daily – I feel so good after I do it, but I often ‘don’t feel like it’ or I’m busy with something else or I totally forget! Ugh.

    Maybe you just need to ‘reframe’ what doing things for yourself means or what 20 minutes means? Maybe during that cup of coffee – you can float away for a minute – and during a shower – you can float away for 2 minutes…in the end it all adds up to that time frame you placed? That is until you get into the habit you’d like to get into…20 full minutes doing ‘blah.’

    Be gentle with you – some people can change on a dime, but for the rest of us it always takes more time to change the way we live than we think or wish.

    I also agree with ‘the modern gal’ – you totally rocked those 8th graders! Not many can say that!!

    ~Yay You~
    Melissa

    Reply
  6. Allie says

    October 21, 2008 at 2:38 am

    You guys are awesome! I think maybe I need to re-examine what I consider me time. And maybe realize that beating myself up over the lack of me time is probably counter-productive.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

  • Home
  • Allie Larkin
  • Blog
  • Book Clubs
  • Contact
  • Writer Resources

allielarkinwrites

Okay, fine. Her jacket is reversible and we kinda Okay, fine. Her jacket is reversible and we kinda match. I admit it. Alright? We all knew this was coming. None of this should be a surprise to any of us. #dailyroxydog #huskychihuahua #dogjacket #peoplewhomatchtheirdogs
Just a dog in a puffy jacket that matches her lawn Just a dog in a puffy jacket that matches her lawn chair. And she likes it! #dailyroxydog #chihuahuamix #ilovemydog
We are in the habit of starting and ending our day We are in the habit of starting and ending our days side by side in our lawn chairs, while the light rises or dims. It’s still chilly at the outer edges of the day. Sometimes Roxy shivers. I bought her a sweater, but she won’t wear it. Sometimes I try to wrap her in my jacket, but she’s not having that either, so I throw her ball and try to get her run and then she comes back to her chair, warm for a little longer. #dailyroxydog #huskychihuahua #dogssittinginchairs
“I got a secret I should tell. I’m going up to “I got a secret I should tell. I’m going up to heaven in a split pea shell.” ~ @petermulvey43 Words Too Small to Say
Happy as a dog in a freshly dug nap hole. #dailyro Happy as a dog in a freshly dug nap hole. #dailyroxydog #huskymixesofinstagram
I saw this little dresser at my favorite magic ant I saw this little dresser at my favorite magic antique store sometime in November and didn’t buy it. But then, of course, I kept thinking about her. She’s the perfect size for my office, and I found those drawer pulls hilarious. When I finally went back in December, I told myself I was shopping for wall art, because I assumed she would be gone. But she was right where I’d seen her last: balanced on another dresser with boxes of old picture frames and tchotchkes piled on top (the true mark of a magic antique store). I didn’t even realize she had a towel rack — that she was a wash stand, not a dresser — until I asked about the price, said I’d take her, and my favorite magic antique store person asked if we needed to unscrew the towel rack to fit her in my car. I suspect this little sweetie is not from the days of necessary wash stands so much as from a country kitchen in the 80s. She was in rough shape, and not made from wood worth stripping and re-staining, but her price reflected that. I had to disassemble that door and put it back together, but I’d been in the market for some experience working with old furniture, and she made me feel brave about trying. I thought about painting her something more neutral, but I’m so glad I didn’t. She deserves to be pink. She’s not perfectly painted and needs a few touch ups. I learned some things about chalk paint and finishes. The drawers stick a bit. Eventually, I’d like to line them with fabric and when I do, I might plane the edges to smooth things out. But goodness, I love her in a way that I wouldn’t if I hadn’t spent time cleaning away her cobwebs and scrubbing the grime from her hilarious drawer pulls. She’s also become a little shrine for the book I’m working on, which makes me love her even more. I’ve always been a person who sees some soul in certain things, and I’m learning to cherish that idiosyncrasy, because there’s so much joy to be found in a brave little toaster or an underdog wash stand. We’re not here in the world for all that long. We may as well love some bright little things. #furnituremakeover
Load More... Follow on Instagram

© Allison Larkin | Site by Little Leaf Design