6/27/06: Thanks, Southwest Airlines

My daughter Linda wanted to go with me to Spearfish, SD because she’s a Deadwood viewer, and, well, Deadwood is just right there. But the first airfares I found were a bit too high for her budget, as well as mine. With persistence, patience, and a promotional email from Southwest Airlines, we found a much lower fare. Now that our tickets are purchased, we’re busy searching out information about the Spearfish/Deadwood/Lead area. There are many beautiful, enticing photos on the web of the surrounding area, which includes Mount Rushmore and Wind Cave.

I just love talking to other writers and getting a new perspective or a new approach. The latest bit of advice is to work on two projects in parallel, switching back and forth between the two. I haven’t tried this before, but I can see the merit. We all know how important it is to get some distance from the writing, and by switching between the two, I’ll get both the distance and a change of pace, since the two books I’m working on are very different in setting and content.

So…beginning next week, I’ll start posting a few pages each week. If anyone reads, this please feel free to contact me with comments.

For my tutoring service, visit http://WiseOwlTutoring.net.

For more information about my writing and editing, visit http://BettieWailes.com.

6/20/06: A new car, time for writing

My slack tutoring schedule accurately reflects this time of summer. Only about half of my hours are filled, which is both good and bad. The bad part, of course, is less income. The good part is that I have more time for writing. I’m actually dividing the extra time between writing and other chores at the office, and catching up on long-postponed tasks at home.

I should be nervous about the income reduction for two reasons. First, I have a new ruby red, beautiful, functional Honda CR-V occupying my garage. (See last week’s post.) The purchase went smoothly last Friday and I’m just as excited as I was as a child on Christmas Day. It doesn’t slip in first gear, it doesn’t overheat, it has a radio, it has a CD player, and it’s shiny and clean.

The second reason has to do with the Leading Ladies Marathon in Spearfish, SD on August 20. Though it may not be the soundest fiscal decision I’ve made in my life, I’m going to South Dakota for this event. I plan to see Mount Rushmore and many other sights while I’m there. The trip will be more expensive than most marathon trips since South Dakota isn’t one of the popular destinations from Orlando.

But, hey, it’s only money. Ninety percent of the time I’ve very conservative with money—some say I’m cheap—but once in a while I make a decision just because it’s what I want. The new car isn’t so much that kind, because it was time to replace my twenty-year-old car, but the marathon trip is simply because I want to go.

If anyone out there is reading these posts, please let me know. I’m thinking of posting excerpts from each of my memoirs. I’d like to know if anyone is like to read the posts. So please send me an email at BETTIEMW@YAHOO.COM. Thanks.

For my tutoring service, visit http://WiseOwlTutoring.net.
For more information about my writing and editing, visit http://BettieWailes.com.

6/14/06: Good SAT class, a new car

I met with the five students in my SAT class last night. These young people are a fine group, and make up an especially good class. Their scores all fall within a fairly narrow range and are balanced, meaning no one is a LOT better in one area than another. This means that, hopefully, no one will be too bored during math, or writing, because he or she is already a high performer in that area. I’m going to enjoy this group.

My summer schedule is pleasantly busy. Each year, I expect it to drop to nearly nothing, but for the second time, I have several adult students and a few younger students staying through the summer for enrichment. The result is a nice blend of an acceptable number of working hours (giving me minimum income) and extra time to catch up on other tasks, especially writing. I’m making good progress on my memoir about my running life.

If all goes as planned, I’ll buy a new car on Friday. This may not sound like such a major event for those of you who change cars often, say every two or three years. I’m not like that. The car I’m currently driving is a 1986 Acura Legend. Yes, 1986. Twenty years old. In fact, it’s only the fourth car I’ve owned in my life. So, for me, buying a new car is very exciting. I’ve decided on the Honda CR-V, the small SUV. I don’t think of so much as an SUV, though, as a car, although I do like the versatility and hauling capacity. I expect I’ll be able to put by bike in it easily, which will be a convenience. Also, I like that the gear shift in on the lower dash, so that the space between the seats can be used for all the “stuff” I seem to take with me. Not only that, but there is hidden storage beneath the floor in the back which will be convenient for more stuff I always have in my car—jumper cables, quart of oil, bungy cords, etc. So I’m very excited.

For my tutoring service, visit http://WiseOwlTutoring.net.

For more information about my writing and editing, visit http://BettieWailes.com.

6/8/06: Another marathon, wonderful touring

My journey to Casper, Wyoming was pleasant—uneventful flight to Denver, pretty drive up to Casper. I found the hotel in Casper unbelievably easily. By the time I had settled in at the hotel, and checked my email, I looked at my phone. It was only half charged. At that moment I realized I had forgotten a phone charger. What to do? I hoped that if I could find a Verizon store, they might agree to charge my phone. That turned out to be quite easy. The phone book listed two Verizon locations, one of which was in the only local mall, which was very easy to find. The people at the Verizon store graciously charged my phone for me. First problem solved.

I spend Saturday touring the Casper area, including Fort Caspar. It is a replica of the original fort built in the mid-1800s. The fort and the accompanying museum offered rich history of the area. I drove up the North Platte River and enjoyed the beautiful scenery. After a lovely day, I returned to the hotel and the packet pick-up area to check on the details of the next day. I was just in time for the pasta dinner, which was one of the best I’ve seen. Good company, good food. What more can you ask?

The marathon started at the Casper Event Center, with indoor toilets available. Yeah! The course was well laid out and very scenic. I saw many rabbits, a chipmonk, and a deer. As the day progressed, with its unrelenting heat and sun, my body rebelled. I ate Frito’s as regularly as I could, but the humidity was so low that my mouth stayed too dry to eat between water stops. By mile 18, I was reduced to walking, periodically feeling nauseous and lightheaded. The swollen hands were the last clue that hyponatremia was coming back for another visit. Determined to finish, I just committed to walking it in, and finished in about 6:20, just happy to collect the medal. After a quick nap, shower, and more good food and company at the post-race party, I started out on my drive to Jackson.

Not only did I underestimate the driving time, but I foolishly believed Yahoo!Maps driving directions and started out going north rather than west. This cost me about another two hours of driving, although I did see a lot of beautiful country. I got into Jackson about 1:30 in the morning, slept well, got out the door by late morning, and went first in search of another Verizon store. I found one right away (Jackson isn’t that big), but apparently the charger wasn’t working properly. After a half hour of charging, the indicator showed less charge, not more. I decided Yellowstone couldn’t wait any longer, and departed with my uncharged phone.

Yellowstone was awesome. I arrived in the Old Faithful area just abut fifteen minutes before its eruption, and then proceeded on a walking tour of the many other geysers, vents, pools, etc. I never knew how many geysers are there, nor the variety. I probably spent too much time in that area, but it was so hard to leave such a fascinating scene. I drove a loop through other areas of the park in search of wildlife and was treated to several herds of bison, pronghorn, and mule deer, as well as more chipmonks and snow. There were pockets of snow remaining from a recent snowfall, and I couldn’t resist getting my hands in it and walking through it. It never ceases to amaze me to walk in snow on a warm day wearing shorts.

My phone had barely enough electrons to allow me to check messages and return a couple of important calls before I boarded the plane in Denver, so I escaped a phone calamity.

I now have a treasure trove of wonderful sights, sounds, and smells (the air really does smell sweet in Wyoming). Great trip!

Marathon count: 30
State count: 19



For my tutoring service, visit http://WiseOwlTutoring.net.

For more information about my writing and editing, visit http://BettieWailes.com.