Battle of the Bands Results and IWSG: The Big Three

Before I start writing my IWSG (you read that right... I haven't even begun that post yet... sigh) I need to post Battle of the Bands results. The song was White Winter Hymnal. Fleet Foxes recorded it originally, and Pentatonix covered it. Pentatonix won it be a fairly large margin.

Pentatonix had 14 votes, and Fleet Foxes had 5 votes.

Many of you said that the addition of the percussion swayed you toward the Pentatonix version. I fully understand that notion. I heard the Pentatonix version first while cruising YouTube and loved the video/song. I, too, loved the clapping, snapping, and thumping. It kinda/sorta reminded me of the song Cups (When I'm Gone) by Anna Kendrick. If you aren't familiar, it first appeared in the movie Pitch Perfect, which as a former choir/acapella singer, I loved. Plus, it was very funny (the movie, that is).




And that was what I said after hearing Pentatonix sing White Winter Hymnal: "Wow." So, even though it makes NO difference, chalk up my vote for Pentatonix. I really like Fleet Foxes (and will happily listen to it), but it doesn't make me say "Wow."

Also, I want to thank everyone who commented on part one or two of my Boundaries posts. Since this is such a big issue (for me and a lot of people), expect more of these posts. Turns out I have LOTS to say on this subject matter.

Now for the IWSG post. What is coming will surprise me as much as you, since I have no idea what I'm going to write today. How's that for "pantsing" it?

These monthly posts are all about airing our insecurities as writers. Turns out, I'm fairly churning with insecurity. Where to begin????

Despite having given it considerable contemplation, I have yet to hammer out in my head even a loose idea for the next book in my Gigi series. In fact, the more I worry that I've overstepped my reach in even trying to write a series (and maybe I only have one book in me, so I ought to reconsider the one I've written), the further away my ideas get. Coincidence? I think not.

Less than a week ago, I prattled on about how great it was that I finished my first ever rough draft in the year 2014 and it was "pretty good." Ah, well, that was before I began this next batch of editing/revisions. Now, my thoughts run more along the lines of, "Oh my God, this is garbage. Just awful. Truly terrible." When you revise, what stands out for you: the gems or the flaws?

Have you noticed that every time you revise it creates a new set of problems? Often that revision is rough. So, you're reading along (and all seems reasonably well) and then you land on the section that you revised last time through, and it seems like you're reading something a first grader would write, which is how I felt about the quality of my initial rough rough rough rough draft.

I guess those are my Big Three.1) Next story is non-existent. 2) This story is screaming flawed right now. 3) Every time I revise, which I'm currently doing... yikes, I only write a new bunch of crap requiring further revision.  Anyone else experience any or all of these issues?

Many thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh for founding this group and the many folks who help him each month! This group posts the first Wednesday of every month. If you want to join, click HERE.

Circling Back To Boundaries, Part Two

If you're here to vote in Battle of the Bands, go back one post.

If you're here for the IWSG post, come back on Wednesday.

This is part two of my BOUNDARIES post. If you missed part one, click HERE.

Okay, so last week mom and I went to Sam's Club. While I was at the membership desk getting a Sam's credit card (since she filed for bankruptcy, she lost her cards), she was shopping. When I catch up to her, she has two rolls of ribbon in the cart.

Note: I'm a nut for Christmas supplies. I just love Christmas. I love wrapping paper, ribbon, ornaments, anything snowman. A nut. It's been a conscious decision to NOT buy this stuff. Since mom and I have combined our Christmas wrapping paper, we've discovered that we have enough paper to last the rest of our lives, and it could be handed down, lasting that person their entire lifetime. We tend to reuse the "good" ribbon, so we've got a lot of that, too.

This ribbon in the cart was the thin wire ribbon, possibly the only element of the gift wrapping process we were lacking. Of course, I was immediately drawn to the ribbon. (Oooh pretty. I must touch it.) I say, "The ribbon was on sale? I want to see the ribbon." There may have been slobber involved here. Can't say for sure.

She says, "We don't need the wide ribbon." Tell me something I DON'T know. "So, we don't need any more ribbon."

And, my blood pressure spikes. In fact,  a whole bunch of thoughts went through my head in the space of thirty seconds. But, I want to see the ribbon. Why do you get to choose the ribbon? What if I like something? I'm paying (50%) for the ribbon, but I don't get to choose?????

And then I think of all the fighting we've done. Remember that Frasier video? Seems like it's constant bickering over Her (Imaginary) Man. So, I say nothing. Nix looking at the ribbon. And I didn't think any more about it. Honestly.

But, that night I had this horrible dream (make it in the very early morning) and I woke up with a migraine in my right eye. Very painful shizzle. What was the dream? Mom and I were wrapping gifts. She got the table. I had to wrap on the floor. She got the tape. She made me use glue. And I was frustrated and pissed and... well, pissed.

I knew it was all related to that damn ribbon escapade the day before. So, I debated my course of action with my eye pulsing. Not fun. Got up and told her about the dream. And she says, "If you wanted to see the ribbon, you should've said so." And I told her I did say so. And her response was we have enough ribbon. True. Then she says, "Well, there wasn't any point because these were the only two styles of thin ribbon." Aha. Now, if she'd said that my desire to see the ribbon... gone.

So, later that day, it's me and my therapist. I've done more thinking about this and realized that this whole thing wasn't about ribbon, contrary to what you might be thinking. It came back to the five fundamental things I figured out last year caused my chronic migraines. The pattern started in junior high school and I revisited it when I got married. Both of those situations made me feel;

Trapped

Loss of voice

Abused

No confidence

Not good enough

The ribbon was lack of voice. I felt like my voice didn't matter. I said I wanted to see the ribbon. She said we didn't need more ribbon. It was a parent to child exchange. Or a person who makes decisions talking to someone who doesn't get a say. And instead of holding to my boundary of "my voice is important," I sacrificed it to not have a (potential) disagreement. And this is how we hurt ourselves.

Every single of the above issues that I've rooted out of junior high and being married (causing illness) came about because I lacked the ability to set and maintain a boundary. Whenever we disregard our own boundaries, we create a problem. I'm not even certain those are ALL of the negative things that came about by those two circumstances (junior high and marriage), but I know that when my migraine escalates to jackhammer status, something has happened. I only need to look at recent events to determine what the REAL PROBLEM is.

The good news: setting and maintaining boundaries will improve your life. The bad news: it is hard. It's really hard if you've never done it well and you're in your 40s. The good news: understanding the core issues helps you to know when you're experiencing one. The untrained eye would've thought this was about ribbon. It wasn't. The bad news: understanding your issues on a rational level isn't enough. You actually have to dig in there and do the "work" of letting all that shizzle go (past crap) AND learn how to do better in your present. Egads. Makes me tired just thinking about it.

Have you read about boundaries? Do you fully understand how setting good boundaries impacts all of your relationships in favorable ways? Likewise, not setting them makes a big ole mess? Have you ever noticed that physical pain in your body correlates directly to emotional pain in your heart?

What I'm Thankful for in 2014 and Battle of the Bands ~ White Winter Hymnal

Happy New Year blog friends!

Yesterday I posted what I intend to be the first of a series. I'm not sure how many posts it will take. If I were Stephen T. McCarthy, I would have all the posts written and appropriately numbered. Well, I'm not and they aren't. I guess I'm more of a roll with it sort of blogger.

Anyway, before we launch into Battle of the Bands, I do want to take a moment and not complain about events of the past year, but to point out some truly amazing things that 2014 brought.

• I experienced several No Migraine Days. 
• To help you understand how MONUMENTAL this was, let's put it in perspective. From January 2002-July2014 I had yet to see even ONE day that didn't include at least a low-grade migraine. Not a knock your head off sort of migraine, but just that nagging migraine. I was functional, but really tired in an emotional and physical way. I think only someone who lives with chronic pain will fully understand how it wears you down.
• So, experiencing ENTIRE DAYS without any migraine at all. Woohoo. I can't tell you how joyous it felt to wake up and it not be there. 
• I even had several blocks of two or three days in a row without a migraine. This tells me it's possible. I'm doing the right things to get healthier and well. I hope that next year I report I'm able to work (or have gone back to work) because I reached a point of going several weeks migraine-free.
• I finished a rough draft on my novel. Yep, it has a beginning, middle, and end.
• I revised and revised and revised that rough draft to the point that I read it and think, "This is really pretty good."

That is good stuff folks. For everything that went wrong in 2014 two HUGE things went really right for me. I am thankful. I feel blessed. I hope that we all see even more good things in 2015.

Now, let's get down to Battle of the Bands.

I'm not going to yammer on about the song for today... mostly because I don't know that much about it. I discovered it while jogging around on YouTube listening to Christmas music. No, it's not a Christmas song, but people who sing Christmas songs sing other songs and they show up in the sidebar. That can lead to a lot of clicking and random listening.

The song is White Winter Hymnal, which I think is an appropriate title for a January song. The band who recorded it first was Fleet Foxes. If you've never heard of them, take a number. They're new to me, too. I'm going to warn you that the video is strange. You can choose to watch it, but don't allow it to distract you from the song. If you are one of those who will try to find meaning in the video as it relates to the song, this will only boggle your mind (trust me). You've been given fair warning. You might want to close your eyes. The challenger is Pentatonix. In order to fully appreciate what they've done with the song, I think you need to watch the video. Yep. Life is full of contradictions. Don't snap at me. It's LIFE.

Here is Fleet Foxes with their version:




Here is Pentatonix with their version:



For more Battle of the Bands fun, check out the other BOTB bloggers to vote on their battles:

• Far Away Series
• Stephen T. McCarthy's Battle of the Bands Blog
• Tossing it Out
• DiscConnected 
• This Belle Rocks
• Mike's Ramblings
• Curious as a Cathy 
• Book Lover
• The Sound of One Hand Typing
• dcrelief ~ Battle of the Bands
• Alex J. Cavanaugh (sometimes)

If you are participating in Battle of the Bands, and you are not listed here, leave me a note in the comments. Thanks!

Now, is the critical moment. It is time to vote for your favorite version of this song. I even encourage you to leave me long comment explaining all the ins and outs of why you voted as you did!