Musing Interruptus

Hello, Welcome. I’m Renée Valentina and this is Musing Interruptus. Musing Interruptus is a podcast for sharing thoughts and stories and enjoying idiomatic phrases. You can read along; the transcription is in the description of this episode; click on continue reading to open a Google Doc with the complete transcription. The idiomatic expressions are in italics. Try to get the meaning from the context and then look them up to see if you were right. If you like it, follow and share it, but more importantly, continue the conversation. Drop a comment with your answers to today’s questions! I love hearing from you! The background music is called Lechuza by Blue Dot.

Today, a conversation between Rebecca and Kimberly…  Looks like someone has a bit of gossip.

Rebecca: O M G, Kimberly, I just heard the most outrageous news about you know who… the big guy in the red suit. 

Kimberly: Jesus, Rebecca. Get on with it; what did you hear?

Rebecca: Wouldn’t you like to know?

Kimberly: Actually, I could do without your incessant and insidious gossip today. 

Rebecca: You’re gonna wanna listen to this. It is going to affect you. It’s gonna affect all of us. 

Kimberly: out with it then! 

Rebecca: I have it on good authority that Santa was caught making Christmas cookies in another kitchen. If you know what I mean. 

Kimberly: I think everyone knows what you mean. 

Rebecca: Fine. Well anyway, Mrs. Claus got a whiff of that from a mutual friend. I won’t say who, but let's just say Santa’s little helper was actually a double agent. 

Kimberly: nooooo!!!! Who’s kitchen was it? 

Rebecca: (pelican face)... are you sitting down? 

Kimberly: Yes, you daft cow, I’m right next to you., you daft cow!

Rebecca: You are not going to believe it. 

Kimberly looks at Rebecca with intensity and curiosity.

Rebecca: Let’s just say that Mariah Carey finally got what she has been asking for after all these years.

Kimberly:  Snaps the ribbon.

Rebecca: Nooo, I don’t know the details… maybe. 

Kimberly: Oh my God!

Rebecca: So, you can imagine how Mrs. Claus felt when she found out. She packed her bags and left for Acapulco. The elves heard her muttering something about getting it on with Mexico’s Sun. Apparently, she had received several invitations to Acapulco Bay, so she decided to take him up on it.. Rudolph and Vixen confirmed they flew her south. 

Kimberly: Good for her. You go get yours, Mrs. Claus. 

Rebecca: Yeah. But now… There is a whole commotion about Christmas. The elves are beside themselves like their hero has just fallen from his pedestal. Nobody is working in the Santa’s Shop. Santa is in Colorado! I just don’t see how this is going to work out. He is supposed to be halfway through the naughty or nice list. The elves say they haven’t seen anything like this since the last time Mrs. Claus got angry, and it was over bathroom cleanliness. So you can imagine what this amounts to on that scale. 

Kimberly: Gosh darn it, we need to do something. 

Rebecca: Yeah, I need another cup of coffee! Waiter!

Thank you for listening.  Continue reading

Hello, Welcome. I’m Renée Valentina and this is Musing Interruptus. Musing Interruptus is a podcast for sharing thoughts and stories and enjoying idiomatic phrases. You can read along; the transcription is in the description of this episode; click on continue reading to open a Google Doc with the complete transcription. The idiomatic expressions are in italics. Try to get the meaning from the context and then look them up to see if you were right. If you like it, follow and share it, but more importantly, continue the conversation. Listen for the questions at the end. Drop a comment with your answers! I love hearing from you! The background music is called Stipple by Blue Dot.

It's over.

The words that have broken my heart endless times. 

He's gone. She's moved on. 

It's over.

I have the worst habits when it comes to letting go, I procrastinate, resist, and hold on until it is painfully evident there is nothing in my hands. Perhaps that was always the case. 

I didn't know you had to let go. I didn't know that was an option.

Yoga helps liberate the tension in my hands, grasping from behind my ribcage, wishing to keep that for me. Yoga helps liberate the tension in my mind. When I remember, I can breathe out the illusion of retaining and then deal with the painful fantasy of what I thought I was fighting. 

Some relationships start out with a visible expiration date, and you know it. Your intuition screams it as you turn into the skid. The nagging uneasiness tells you not to get comfortable. You do it anyway and tell yourself, I can handle this goodbye, and it will be worth the salt in my tears and void in my chest. 

It's not over, though. 

When people leave your life, you can revisit memories. See their faces, listen to their voices, the mms, and the way they would call your name.

When you finish a book, it feels like it's over. However, the pages can be taken into your hands, words at your fingertips at a whim. Unless it is a Kindle. In that case, the thrill is gone. I accidentally hugged my Kindle the other day. Suffice to say, I did not get what I needed.

If you are like me, you might create a playlist for the people and books in your life.  A playlist to accompany whenever. In this case, I added each song Bono mentioned throughout the book (except full albums, something I regret now). You can click on the link in the transcription of this episode in the Google Doc, to listen to it. When I listen to the playlist, I try to listen for clues. Kind of like the clues and messages I leave for my loved ones in the playlists I make them. Of course, some songs are just good, they need to be on the playlist because it makes sense or the are just rad. Other songs are a reminder of a moment we shared or a message in someone else’s words and voice, accompanied by a kick-ass melody, harmony, and rhythm. Just yesterday I told my mentor how difficult, awkward,  and funny it is when I tell people how much I care for them with my own words, for my own sake. I am reminded of a voice message I left him at his office number, expressing my gratitude and admiration. I fumbled too much and it sounded more like a declaration of love by a teenager obsessed with a rockstar or actor. It was a declaration of love and admiration. I learned so very much from him. I still have so much gratitude. I just wish I had made it sound more adult and serious and dry; signed off with many regards. You can imagine what declarations of romantic love look like. They are a total mess. I only regret not staying on script. I think. It’s better when I write for other people who mean to communicate feelings of love. Continue reading

Hello, Welcome. I’m Renée Valentina and this is Musing Interruptus. Musing Interruptus is a podcast for sharing thoughts and stories and enjoying idiomatic phrases. You can read along; the transcription is in the description of this episode; click on continue reading to open a Google Doc with the complete transcription. The idiomatic expressions are in italics. Try to get the meaning from the context and then look them up to see if you were right. If you like it, follow and share it, but more importantly, continue the conversation. Drop a comment with your answers to today’s questions! I love hearing from you! The background music is called Judie Grange by Blue Dot.

Have you ever wondered what is behind choosing a job? Granted, there are cases where you take what is available. However, there are some jobs you know need to be selected. For instance, who would want to grow up to become a cartoon character? This question has been circling my mind for the past few… minutes. If I think of it too much, I won’t get past writing the title, so I will try to get this out in the most expedited way possible. 

I’d like to interview Bugs Bunny. He is self-assured, calm and collected, a strategist. He gets away with everything; he dates Lola Bunny! Rabbit season comes and goes, yet he is unperturbed and alive. The ultimate trickster. I bet he has the best eyesight on account of all the carrots he eats. What a great thing not to worry. I wonder what a real-life Bugs Bunny would be like. Could there be a human that embodies that persona? Furry tail and all. What about becoming a cartoon? Would anybody out there in the Musingverse like to become a cartoon character, either of themselves or perhaps a Mickey Mouse? Is seeing stars a perk of being whacked in the head when you are a cartoon? What about elasticity and free falling and going -splat- like a pancake only to be pumped up with air like a balloon? As a cartoon, you get to undergo a series of transformations that needn't be permanent. 

In the movie Who Framed Roger Rabbit? We see the interaction between cartoons and humans. There are rules and nemeses. Cartoons can kiss humans and conk them on the head,  slap ‘em in the face. They coexist. The story is fun. I especially liked how the cartoons go to a set, act in movies, and put on shows. What do they get in exchange for this? What is the economics of cartoon work? Is it exploitation? If it isn’t,  what motivates them? This was obviously not written from the cartoon's point of view. Then again, there is something addictive about show biz. Is that enough for a cartoon? If cartoons have a sense of humor, do they have all the other senses? How was this determined? 

In Cool World, movie not song, the character played by Gabriel Byrne draws a cartoon realm from inspiration from dreams, ends up in the cartoon world, and has sex with a doodle (that is what they are called in the story), transforming her into a human (at least temporarily). That’s a special kind of superpower, isn’t it? The desire to materialize what we have imagined is not new, nor is the fantasy some men have about making a woman -complete-. I’d ask the Kim Basinger character, who plays the sexiest doodle, why she would want to be real. Although a completely different situation, I’m reminded of Cassiel, the angel that falls to Earth in the movie Far Away, So Close! The answer in that movie is about sensations: taste, smell, touch, hearing, and experience. That is what makes it worth it. Back to cartoons, how interesting that our creations would want to be with us and like us. I guess that speaks well of humanity. If anyone is keeping score. There are a lot of great things about being alive.  Continue reading

Hello, Welcome. I’m Renée Valentina and this is Musing Interruptus. Musing Interruptus is a podcast for sharing thoughts and stories and enjoying idiomatic phrases. You can read along; the transcription is in the description of this episode; click on continue reading to open a Google Doc with the complete transcription. The idiomatic expressions are in italics. Try to get the meaning from the context and then look them up to see if you were right. If you like it, follow and share it, but more importantly, continue the conversation. Drop a comment with your answers to today’s questions! I love hearing from you! The background music is called Vernouillet by Blue Dot.

Idiomatic expressions are a lot of fun because of the imagery they evoke. By using a set of words to express an idea, you add color and pictures to your words with more words. For instance, instead of saying someone has a low IQ or is stupid, you can say, they are not the sharpest tool in the shed. Imagine the shed, a little house where you keep and organize your tools. Can you see the tools? There might be some hanging on the walls, like a hammer. If someone is as smart as a bag of hammers… can you visualize the hammers in a bag? Can you imagine picking it up and lugging it around? Now, you can remember this image and use the phrase when describing people like the marker bandits. By the way, I’m not making this up. Some guys wanted to rob an apartment complex; they decided that coloring their faces with a permanent black marker would suffice. If you look at the pictures, you’ll see it didn’t. But I bet most of you would know not to color a mask on your faces, especially not with permanent markers. Back to the tool shed, you might say that they are as smart as a bag of hammers.  

You might also find a toolbox in that shed. If you open the toolbox, you could see a ratchet, a pair of needle nose pliers, a screwdriver, a tape measure, a spirit level, and even saws. If the saw is dull, it won’t cut through wood (or whatever else you need it for, Jeffrey Dahmer). If the saw is not sharp, it is useless. Hence, it might not be the sharpest tool in the shed. We say people are sharp when they are intelligent and show it. Intelligent people are useful; unintelligent people end up being made fun of on TikTok and called Karens. Karens might be people who not only are unintelligent they are demanding and entitled, a real tool if you ask me. They are not the sharpest tools in the shed. When you describe these people, the phrase, the lights are on, but nobody’s home is useful. The house is empty the same way people deduce or work out their skull is empty. The lights are on, meaning you know they are alive because there is life in their eyes. This phrase reminds me of the Stepford Wives movie, in which women were implanted with nanochips to make them submissive animatronics. The science on this is not clear, but it's a great visual for the phrase the lights are but there is nobody home.  Speaking of lights, we can also use the adjective dim-witted. I like that one. Dim as in weak, wit as in the capacity to use words in a clever and humorous way (Cambridge Dictionary).  A person that is dim or not very bright. They might be slow on the uptake, which means it takes them a long time to understand something. This has happened to me. I blame it on needing to drink more water. At least, that is what I tell myself.  Continue reading

Hello, Welcome. I’m Renée Valentina and this is Musing Interruptus. Musing Interruptus is a podcast for sharing thoughts and stories and enjoying idiomatic phrases. You can read along; the transcription is in the description of this episode; click on continue reading to open a Google Doc with the complete transcription. The idiomatic expressions are in italics. Try to get the meaning from the context and then look them up to see if you were right. If you like it, follow and share it, but more importantly, continue the conversation. Drop a comment with your answers to today’s questions! I love hearing from you! The background music is called Just Tuning Up by Blue Dot.

Embrace the wild side, naturally. In political philosophy, we learn the story of how we escaped the state of nature and entered into a society, a relationship of civility (at least aspirationally) via the social contract and the creation of the state. In the state of nature, it was every man for himself. I wonder what the women were doing. That means that there were no institutions or, police or laws. You needed to be fast, strong, and adapt. This is during the whole nomad and first settlements. Did you know that the whole men were hunters women were gatherers thing was debunked? If you are interested, I left a link to the article in the transcription. The author, Okobock, indicates that the gender distinction in hunting and gathering isn’t substantiated. There was no division of labor in those times. There is, however, evidence that women in different regions hunted with weapons and dogs. Some women were buried with their weapons. 

It seems that entering society made it possible to fossilize power relationships through rules, norms, laws, customs, religion and belief systems. The social contract refers to a philosophical concept that explains how we created society by agreeing to relinquish our right to exert violence. This conversation never really took place, and yet organized life was detonated. Taking a detour off the unpaved roads in the state of nature has a lot to do with the nature of humanity. 

Human nature can be considered as fundamentally good or fundamentally evil.- You heard me, we go straight past bad- At least that is how I imagined it. Humanity found itself needing to create mechanisms to protect itself from one another. The need for protection included property. We need an institution to punish those who would take our cheese! You might be a commie and be willing to share your cheese with anyone or even anarchically think that the cheese is there for the taking. However, you need to agree on that within the community. I find it fascinating how humans have created structures of power veiled by culture and religion. Careful! We are warned if we dare speak of a cultural practice that may impinge on human dignity. That has been in place forever, don’t touch it, don’t move it. You are appalled by child marriages because you are not culturally sensitive or of course women prefer not to be recognized by law or study or live a life free from violence. That is a sacred cultural practice; don’t touch it with your tainted Western ways. Oh wait, the West has those practices, too. Oh Snap! We have philosophically escaped the state of nature, but how can we ever escape human nature? It seems that philosophy is urging us to keep up with it, instead, individuals are just trying to keep up with the Jonses or whoever your neighbor is. 

This shows that sound arguments should be more relevant than who is speaking. In that vein, I am reminded of the people I loved listening to.  Emphasis on love…Continue reading

Hello, Welcome. I’m Renée Valentina and this is Musing Interruptus. Musing Interruptus is a podcast for sharing thoughts and stories and enjoying idiomatic phrases. You can read along; the transcription is in the description of this episode; click on continue reading to open a Google Doc with the complete transcription. The idiomatic expressions are in italics. Try to get the meaning from the context and then look them up to see if you were right. If you like it, share it, but more importantly, continue the conversation. The background music is called Gaddy by Blue Dot. 

The feeling of being replaced, unneeded, unwanted, undesired, and unloved comes from a special place in hell. Today, for our 2024 Halloween special, I want to take you there. A place that is closer than it appears. So, I’ll take the wheel, you strap yourself in. If I do this right, it is going to be a bumpy ride. So, good luck to both of us. 

For starters, it’s not a place in hell; it is right here on Earth, roaming the streets of your neighborhood, even when you are sleeping. It looms over your home, right over your pillow. It creeps up the stairs and down the corridor, swiftly funneling between the gap made by the door and the floor. There is no impenetrable crevice, there is no escaping the midnight fuckery. 

The shake jolts you out of your sleep. You don’t awaken to a delightful confusion or sense of satisfaction but to the realization that it was not a nightmare, it was the continuation of your life. A sweat-soaked pillow where your head lays urges you to move. Your stomach, inside out and dry. The looming entity is the engine behind the palpitations booming in your ears at 3:00 am. Once awake, a special kind of paralysis takes over; you could move, but that would imply facing the awake world; your decision-making feels frozen. Which discomfort is more bearable? There is still time to be in bed. I mean, consider the alternative. Where would you go? What would you do? If you move, there might be more emotional pain. You might never be able to get back to sleep. You probably won’t be able to anyway, but you can dream. Rather, wish. A nice dream would be a welcome vacation, even if it is one of those quick ones. At this point, you can’t even remember what peace and happiness feel like. A comforting dream is the only thing that could reset this.

Something to cleanse the palate and make it feel like this day could be a good day. Being awake doesn't make things better; the looming entity is so much bigger and stronger in the wee hours of the morning. Look at you, lying there, so vulnerable to the force that could potentially eviscerate you. But why doesn’t it? Why doesn’t this menacing entity just get the job done? What is this torture about? Whatever it is, you can’t shake it. You might muster up the strength to get out of bed. Face the darkness, not sure if you are walking into the entity, under it, or if it is running through you. That would be the worst.

You make your way to the kitchen and flip on the light. There are some decisions you need to make. They are easy decisions because of the hour and having faced the difficulty of pulling yourself out of bed. They call it the witching hour because that is when the supernatural has more power. It makes sense you would awaken and make it out of bed. You realized there was a lapse in your memory of how you got to the kitchen. Your feet don’t feel used yet. You wonder if you are still asleep? Why not the living room or the bathroom? Why go directly to the kitchen? You are pretty sure you arrived directly. You go with it, it is clear that you need something. You chuck up feeling dazed and confused to the early hour and restless sleep. Are you looking to quench a thirst? It doesn’t make sense to eat, but you consider it. It may tie you over and distract your mind from the pulsating ideas, making your brow quiver and sweat. Continue reading

Hello, Welcome. I’m Renée Valentina and this is Musing Interruptus. Musing Interruptus is a podcast for sharing thoughts and stories and enjoying idiomatic phrases. You can read along; the transcription is in the description of this episode; click on continue reading to open a Google Doc with the complete transcription. The idiomatic expressions are in italics. Try to get the meaning from the context and then look them up to see if you were right. If you like it, share it, but more importantly, continue the conversation. The background music is called Young Buck by Blue Dot.

Today, Analog Rocks!

This is an ode to my very digital friend.

 If God and my neighbors who can listen to all my phone conversations know it, may the Musingverse know it too. By the way, dear new listeners, welcome and thank you for liking and following Musing Interruptus. It really does make a difference to know you are there. 

Let’s take it from the top!

Ode to my friend. Well, one of them… and it is unstructured, keeping in line with the leitmotif of Musing Interruptus. 

You love your digital clock and streaming music from your digital box. 

You play video games on boxes with Xs and Switches

You’ve found a way to digitize conversations and program your appliances to make food. 

Many a substitution frees you up for other activities

Robot food. Robot conversations. Robot music. Robot time. 

Don’t you miss the smell and feel of vinyl in your hands or the hiss of the needle and the crackle of a song about to begin? 

How could you turn your back on CooCoo Clocks and marbles?

Do you honestly prefer your stylo to a pencil or pen? 

I know you.

You hide your love for the analog behind those flashing lights. 

Even if we write using digital letters, it is no substitute for the real thing.

Neither of us can go a week without having a conversation with our voices.

Your digitality is no match for your nostalgia; you just mask it very well. 

Just remember this, and I say it from a position of vulnerability but also the higher moral ground I have climbed up on

There are no digital friends; you are stuck with us, the analog.

I urge you, do not be seduced. Be wary of the digital siren calls.

So now, I will tell you the story of the analog rocks, the ultimate battle between digital and analog. Disclaimer and disclosure are in the most honest proportion possible in this podcast and, more specifically, this episode. The characters are fictitious; any resemblance to people in my very close life is a mere coincidence because, remember, according to Fight Club philosophy, we are not unique snowflakes. Let us turn our attention to an arena located in a not-so-far-away dystopian future. Our very own Hellen S. Parta is on location. Hello Hellen, how are things at the Troy Arena?

Renée, I’m so happy to be here; of course, I am reporting from Troy Arena, the sight of tonight's well-anticipated match. In one corner, we have my friend, let's call him Mausto, and in the other, our contender, the Digital Dragon. The ring is surrounded by crowds who travel near and far. They have big traveling tumblers with beer and bags of peanuts in the shell. These will be used to eat when bored from drinking beer or to throw during the match in case things aren’t entertaining enough. I think there might be an elephant that escaped from another story, but I’m not sure we will see him. Don’t worry, I’ll let you know. The arena has two entrances. A very bright light shines from the corridors that lead to the ring. The beacons of light from different forces which prepare the ambiance for today's encounter. Continue reading

Hello, Welcome. I’m Renée Valentina and this is Musing Interruptus. Musing Interruptus is a podcast for sharing thoughts and stories and enjoying idiomatic phrases and words. You can read along; the transcription is in the description of this episode. The idiomatic expressions are in italics. Try to get the meaning from the context and then look them up to see if you were right. If you like it, share it, but more importantly, continue the conversation. The background music is called Floating Whist by Blue Dot.

Today, Don't Even Think About It

Welcome, come on in, Come in. What can I do for you today? Are You looking for a solution? We have wash-and-wear and custom-made or couture.

Put your problem in our hands, and we will design a solution that may or may not work! If you would like a guarantee, we sell those separately, consider paying the fee, you won’t regret it. Why bother with coming up with solutions yourself? We’ve got you covered! From pesky relationship drama to workaday flares of genius for that project you need to turn in, asap. They didn’t hire you to be a paper pusher, did they? Outsource your solution needs. Hire us for a project or pay a monthly fee. We can provide all sorts of solutions.

You will need to provide information. If you aren’t sure what we need to know to help you, our specialized consultants are experts at asking questions and prying into your life. Fear no, we are cautious with your information. Confidentiality is of the utmost importance to us and to you. We won’t tell if you don’t. We love keeping secrets. 

Call right away and get a quote! How much is the right solution worth to you? Find out! We’re sure that at our prices, you won’t think twice. Hell, you can pay to stop thinking altogether! We’ll do that for you and so much more.

Do you need help deciding who to vote for, how to discipline your children, or what movie to watch? How about what to make for dinner or who to date?  Is the office counting on a big idea to revolutionize the market? Or are you looking for something that is -just good enough-? Don’t worry; we’ll read the situation, create the strategy, and give you the tools to execute it.  You’ll never have to think again. 

Who needs the frustration of coming up with ideas to make things happen? We know you sure don’t! And we are happy to take that off your hands! Freeing you up to do anything you like! We are a phone call away; you don’t even have to write pesky instant messages. Unlike other millennials, we love getting your calls. 

Call now, and stop thinking today!

Thank you for listening. 

Would you ever hire a service like this? What kind of problems would you outsource? Would you pay per project or a retainer fee? 

I’m listening

Click to open Google doc with the transcription

Hello, Welcome. I’m Renée Valentina and this is Musing Interruptus. Musing Interruptus is a podcast for sharing thoughts and stories and enjoying idiomatic phrases. You can read along; the transcription is in the description of this episode; click on continue reading to open a Google Doc with the complete transcription. The idiomatic expressions are in italics. Try to get the meaning from the context and then look them up to see if you were right. If you like it, share it, but more importantly, continue the conversation. The background music is called Small World Reveals by Blue Dot. 

Cape buffalos, saltwater crocodiles, sun bears, wild boars, cassowaries, wasps, mooses or meese, Tasmanian devils, western diamondback rattlesnakes, and me are the most aggressive and territorial animals in the world, especially when it comes to education, according to Wildlife Informer (2024). Today, It’s Not Magic; It’s Synapse. 

Ah, the working man and the working woman and all the collars they wear. Educators are said to be in between collars. There are white collars, blue collars, and some people have written about pink collars. If you ask Marx, these distinctions are bullshit; unless you control the means of production, you are the proletariat. 

That said, distinctions are made with subclasses and colors. White-collar workers have administrative jobs, work behind desks, and have attained higher education; they also make more money. 

Blue-collar workers, the working class, range from low to high skilled; they work for wages, sometimes low, depending on the job and skill level. However, some blue-collar workers are highly skilled (meaning they educated themselves or trained to attain knowledge), and they get paid more per hour.

Where do public school teachers fit? Highly educated, low-paid workers. Many of the hours I work are not accounted for or paid. When I got paid for activities outside of the classroom, it took up to seven months to see those wages, and by that time, they had already depreciated. I don’t think ordinary blue-collar workers go so many months without being paid. Nobody bats an eye. You have to either be wealthy and teach as a hobby or hold down several jobs. I am the latter. I do translations, private English classes, ghostwriting, and copywriting, and now I am endeavoring in voice-over work. Wish me luck and pass my name around, please.

The question stands: why do educators stick around the world of public education? Off the bat, vocation. The power of vocation is a double-edged sword; it will be used against you. Sometimes by the very students or institutions that hire you. Many of the teachers that stick around are convinced that their work will positively impact their student’s development and that of their country. An exercise in public service on the taxpayer’s dime. They would be amazed at how far that dime stretches. That dime stretches so thin that, many a time, it is invisible. All you know is that it was once there.  I would say it borders on exploitation, but that’s commie talk. Should you decide to live solely on your teaching wages, you might be accused of having made a vow of poverty. In reality, it is exploitative. I wonder if that is ever going to change. Nobody seems to care. 

The world is changing; the pace is being set to achieve more in less time. You are meant to spend less time at the expense of your ethics or the quality of your work or health. Time is of the essence.

Recently, artificial intelligence -AI- has been adamantly suggested as a strategy to cut back on time used in creating, wait for it, didactic resources. I'm not talking helper here. It was suggested we use prompts to create resources, substituting our writing. Educators design and draft resources to accompany our students in discovering and understanding core concepts. It is not just a delivery system. Continue reading

Hello, welcome. I’m Renée Valentina and this is Musing Interruptus. Musing Interruptus is a podcast for sharing thoughts and stories and enjoying idiomatic phrases and words. You can read along; the transcription is in the description of this episode. The idiomatic expressions are in italics. Try to get the meaning from the context and then look them up to see if you were right. If you like it, share it, but more importantly, continue the conversation. The background music is called Remsen By Blue Dot.

Today, I’m Never Really Alone

Once the door closes, I am finally free to be with you. I feel like a teenager stealing away to a place where I can be alone with my thoughts. It is a relief. I am relieved not to have to talk outside the walls of my mind. I speak out loud, beyond the confines of my grey matter. Something I do much too often as it is. Filling the airwaves is natural to me. That said, once I am alone with you, I feel giddy.

That doesn’t mean there is always something to say or that the translation of feelings into words is readily available. Throughout the years, most of my feelings have become stories in which I take the opportunity to denounce hurt feelings, my broken heart, mourning, anger, joy, desire, and, well, a few choice scenes in my fictitious character's lives. As much as a fictitious character can live. I know this much: they will die with me, and we will all take our last breath together. 

I would be considered bananas if the occupation -writer- did not exist. Sometimes paid, hurrah. Most of the time, for free. Meaning free in every sense of the word. Free to say what I mean or hide what I wish. Free to imagine the textures and describe situations as if giving instructions to a painter or someone who could draw all of this into a visual landscape. I wonder if you listen or read and get a visual. Does it translate into something, anything?

I write to disclose the jagged corners, at times, being brave, others, as a means of survival, removing the nose before it gets too tight as a teeter on the pile of boxes, propped up by more imagination. A song whose tempo is marked by my heartbeat. That is what this is. Raw, uncouth at times, unfiltered, filtered, evident, underwritten, overacted, misspelled, and many times with words misused, only because I thought their meanings were one and not really that other. Their sonority made more sense than their actual definition, and I could not be bothered to double-check. This, in general, has been an exercise against an internal imploration of modesty in which the need to write wins. It has won until now. 

It is not all drama. There is fun in this.  It is fun to describe the hiding places within words, between the lines, behind the scenes, thoughts and feelings, and projections. Riding the story to see wherever it takes me, discovering shades and experiences I later provide a voice for. Full circle. Continue Reading