Seriously?

Is that all?

Twenty-eight days ago, we started a wonderful challenge of writing a post per day. Now, mind you, I’ve done this before. And not even with a challenge! Just blogging for a full month (or more) in a row.

It’s true, however, that when you put some emphasis on some crazy themes, it gets harder. Alas, it’s a done deal. As of the moment I hit publish on this post, I’ll have completed this challenge. For the second time.

That’s what I’m talking about.

Though there were some off-the-wall prompts this time around (I think even more than the first time), I’ve once again enjoyed it. Truthfully, challenges like this get your mind working and make you think about things in a different way. For the most part, I try and stick with reality on the prompts. I try and come up with something in the real world (though I did use Earl once). I find that to be even more challenging.

When one challenge closes, there’s always another ready to snap away!

But enough about me. Hopefully you’ve been with me for the past 28 days and you’ve seen it all.

I’ve really enjoyed reading and commenting on all the other blogs. Outside of the ones posted later yesterday (I’ll be getting to them) and today, I’ve ready pretty much every post people have done in this challenge. I can’t say I have commented on every post, but if you’ll recall there’s always reasons for something like that.

And though they may readily deny it, I know Nicky and Mike like this challenge. And I’m sure there will be a third one. Though, to be fair, it may have to be done without my prodding. I’ll just wait in the wings for the next one. Patiently, this time. Kind of.

I have a whole heap of new blogs I’ve really enjoyed going to during this challenge. And I’ve loved that there are several from the first go-around still there and going at it. I’ll be updating my blog roll soon with a few more of the ones I truly enjoyed and got to know.

No matter what, that’s the best part about this challenge — meeting other bloggers from all over with different tastes and styles. It’s made it fun and I look forward to continuing to reading some of their blogs in the coming weeks, months and more. So for that, I thank Nicky and Mike for taking this on again and I will look forward to a third — if and when it happens. This time next year, perhaps?

Still, I won’t lie.

I like challenges. It keeps me fresh with blogging things and forces me to sometimes think outside the box a little. I know Ziva, another participant in this challenge, does a 30 days of photography one sometimes. I like that idea because I’m a photographer. I just have a hard time posting 30 straight days of photos on this blog. So it got me thinking a bit. What could we do to intertwine photography and blogging?

Then the ideas instantly came — a monthly photo blogging challenge.

I initially ran the idea by Ziva to see what she thought of it because she’s done the photo challenges. She told me she was on board with it and would lend her “challenge” expertise if needed.

So here’s the deal.

On the first of every month, I’ll have a blog post about the theme for the month. Each participant will have the full month to take five photos to cover the month’s theme. Interpret it as you see fit. On the final day of the month, do a blog post about the photos for the theme and post it. Come back over here and I’ll have a link thing setup, much like Nicky/Mike and Ziva do for their challenges.

The beauty of this challenge is it’s one post, but it still gives you a challenge. And it challenges you with photos as well as words.

My post here tomorrow will explain the challenge in-depth and have the first theme.

This challenge will go on for however long. There will be no direct end date. As long as people seem interested and want to continue along with it, they are most certainly welcome. Who knows? Maybe it’ll just be Ziva and I doing it. Or just me. Or three or four. I have no idea.

So, in the end, I guess that’s not all for now.

Maybe for the current challenge. But there will always be challenges, whether blogging or in real life, that one will do or overcome.

I’ve enjoyed this challenge and look forward to the next. And for that, I’m thankful.

Hope to see some or many of you hopping into the monthly photo challenge!

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog [at] gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Top o’ the mornin’ to ya!

See, a story about being langered isn’t always easy to write about on the blog. Do you want to share something like that with the world to see?

When I was a wee bit younger, several of us would get trollied during the weekend. It was all well and good because you could get pissed the night before, get up the next day and go like a champ.

As you get older, having that feeling isn’t so nice.

Early in the evening — experiencing the nightlife of Dublin!

Take us to 2010.

We went on a vacation to Dublin. There were five of us in total, all family. Me and my brother, who are great fans of Guinness, knew there would be several pints of the black stuff tossed back in the fair city.

Why wouldn’t there be?

However, to me, this wasn’t a trip where I’d just get intoxicated and stay that way (unlike some trips to Montreal in my youthful days). That being said, it seemed silly not to get lit up on night.

And this is how it happened…

Me and my two brothers signed up for a pub crawl. It was rather cheap and it looked like fun. They took you to several bars, fed you at one, allowed you to pour your own beers at one (tap system on the table, way too cool) and you got to see some interesting places. Me and my one brother figured we should get toasted at least one night on the trip and this was as good a time as any.

We met the crawl people at a brewpub. Turns out we were the only three on the tour. The owner actually debated canceling it, but decided to let it go on and we were with our tour guide, who was an absolute blast. We hit several bars. Eventually, my one brother left to head back to the hotel. But two of us carried on.

One Guinness turned into two. Then three. Then four.

You get the picture.

And I can tell you this — the Guinness in Ireland seems a lot stronger and it definitely tastes better than the Guinness in the U.S.

Five then six.

Yeah, no kidding, right?

I should also note that I had become more of a social guy when it comes to beers. Maybe one or two a night if I met some people out at the local watering hole.

Ahhh, the sweet nectar of Dublin!

So let’s say my body wasn’t in the shape to necessarily be able to process these pints as I would hoped.

Seven and eight…

All said, I figured a good dozen or so pints passed through my system that night. We saw some great pubs. Listened to some great music. Saw a World Cup soccer match at one pub. And as the night wore down, we bid our tour guide (who, at that point, was off the clock and have been boozing a bit with us) adieu and made our way to the door and the fresh night air.

That’s when my brother said — do you have any idea how to get back to the hotel?

In Dublin, there’s this massive sphere that goes way into the sky. It can be seen from all over. I was told it’s called the Stiffy by the Liffey. It’s honestly named the Spire of Dublin, and it’s a nearly 400-foot tall stainless steel structure.

I knew our hotel was right near the structure.

So, I pointed to it and said “Head toward the (phallic reference)!”

And off we went.

In the end, we were in Dublin. Two brothers with an affinity toward Guinness. And that is why I got trollied.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Is there a phrase that bothers you when you hear it?

At my last stop in newspapers, a couple of co-workers used to get fired up over the phrase “It is what it is.”

I can understand that, though I still used it. I think it’s one of those phrases that doesn’t necessarily make sense, yet it does because it’s become so commonplace.

My response should have been “deal with it.”

If you think of common phrases, they really are plentiful. It’s almost a way to break the ice when talking to people, isn’t it? The problem is, if you do it too often, the sayings become a dime a dozen.

It’s true.

Alas, it’s a piece of cake to get chatting with people if you try. Even in this day of social media, one can still talk in a normal way. You don’t have to give an arm and a leg to do it, either. Just walk up to them and start talking. Stop beating around the bush and just chat with them. Maybe you’ll have something in common and have a new pal.

If not, move along. Maybe you were barking up the wrong tree.

When you realize life has thrown you a curve, whether it be by chatting with people, jobs or whatever else, maybe it’s time to get back to the drawing board. Though you may be between a rock and a hard place, it’s something you have to do. After all, even if you dump a whole gallon on the ground, it’s not worth crying over spilled milk.

Just get back up and brush yourself off.

As many of you know, I’m jobless. Over that time, I’ve become more frugal. I watch what I spend, and I try and make it spread out a little bit. A fool and his money are soon parted, but I’m trying not to be a fool!

Continuing on in life with a battle such as this, you often draw a blank. And it stinks. There are times, too, when you can get some freelance and part-time work, which is nice. After all, never look a gift horse in the mouth. And the way I look at it, every cloud has a silver lining.

I try and plug along and look at the world around me and smell the roses.

I have noticed this winter, though, as we’ve received colder temps and more snow than last year, people are dropping like flies with illness. It’s almost like everybody is catching everything but the kitchen sink! I have some friends who have been sick multiple times. That must stink. They are foaming at the mouth to see better weather and get outside and get healthy!

I have a gut feeling, however, that the winter will last a little longer. Hopefully not too long though!

When the weather does turn, I know I’ll be happy as a clam. I’ll be head over heels excited to get outside, ride my bike, go for nice hikes and play some softball and disc golf.

I have some things I want to do that might knock your socks off! Well, maybe not. I can’t imagine everything I’ll do will be your cup of tea.

But one thing, no ifs, ands or buts about it, I need to do is get a paycheck. It’s been like a needle in a haystack, but I think something is coming. It’s a no-brainer that I’ll need it, so hopefully something comes along.

When it does? I’ll be on cloud nine.

For now, I stay par for the course. Each day, the plot thickens. People will rain on your parade, they say, but I’ll bring an umbrella. I’ll keep rolling with the punches, even if I get the short end of the stick.

I’ll tough it out. I’ll keep doing what I do now. Write. Search. Try and smile. One thing I know is, you can teach an old dog new tricks.

After all, it is what it is.

Deal with it.

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

Another day, another post in this challenge I am involved in.

Sheesh.

The bright side? There’s only a few days left. That’s a fact.

And then I yearn for this to continue throughout the rest of the year. That’s fiction.

That being said, it’s been fun and I’ve found several new blogs I’ll be reading more often (fact). Today’s topic has thrown me for a loop, though, as I have been trying to come up with something somewhat funny and good to write (fact).

Then I figured out what I should write about (fiction).

In fact, the truth is, I didn’t.

Allow me this, though. True story.

Throughout my life of writing, I’ve always worked with fact. Whether it be newspapers, magazines or whatever else, most of the writing is based in fact. Even in public relations. I know some will be shocked there. But in PR, it’s still based on fact. It’s just fluffed a little to make it better for the organization. If people don’t understand that, well, they don’t understand how things work (fact).

I’ve tried to get into fiction a little in recent years. My “Life with Earl” series, which came well before the NBC series “My Name is Earl,” (fact), is partially based on fact (see the golf story), but then quite liberally made into fiction (see the rest of the stories). Allow me to tell you the reason for how Earl has been shaped over the years.

When Earl first started, it was an attempt at a total humor column in the college newspaper. He was actually somewhat well received. Alas, the faculty adviser didn’t think it was worth the print. So for me to use Earl, I needed to have him be relevant. So I took a different look at politics and timely stories with Earl. Some of those included Earl calling the White House to discuss some political things with Bill Clinton. The problem? George W. Bush was now in office. (That’s when I was in college, you see). Or the time he complained about Tiger Woods being the main person on golf broadcasts, no matter how good or bad he was doing. (To some, that may still be fact!)

But my favorites are when I put Earl in crazy situations and see how my mind makes him react. It’s fun fiction. I’ve often thought about an Earl book, made up mainly of stories of him in different situations. Maybe one day as I’d like to make them all connect somehow and then be able to have an actual ending, outside of just a bunch of stories.

Maybe I can make those fictional accounts into a book soon. Could that be fact? We shall see.

I have other fictional ideas for books, too. One is disc golf related. I have the beginning. I have the end. But the middle — the meat — is just not coming together for me. I need something to push that one along. I want to make that fact.

I even have a couple of geocaching book ideas (fact).

Instead, I’m sitting here typing about fact or fiction for a monthly writing contest (fact)!

Alas, I keep plugging along. In life. In writing. In making beer (fact). And I keep dreaming about that lottery I won (fiction, but would like to be fact).

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!

“Everything has beauty, but not everyone sees it.”

– Confucius 

Feel free to leave a comment, or e-mail P.J. at hoohaablog@gmail.com. Also, please “Like” HooHaa Blog on Facebook!