Dateline: Miami, Florida, Thursday evening, May 22, 2008
**ring**
“Hello”
“Hey Kevin… it’s Marty from Banal Leakage”
“Um.. hi. Is everything ok? And how did you get this number?”
“huh.. oh, nevermind that… how ARE things?… well, not exactly good… here’s what we got… Dustin has frozen himself with a note that says, DO NOT THAW FOR 10,000 YEARS… Nilsa has her hand in the air, listening to Slayer and yelling ‘666’, obviously confused about her guest post count…”
“ok…”
“Ajooja is wearing a beer-stained Bears jersey, shouting ‘GO CARDS’ while Porn Wars is playing in the background on the computer.”
“Wow. I guess I never should have let anyone el…”
“Wait, that’s not all… Bec was late today and kept mumbling something about ‘bloody blokes can’t clean up after themselves’, while discussing the weather in England.”
“So… are you going to be ok to blog for me tomorrow? I mean, it sounds like pure chaos there.”
“Not a problem. Got it all handled from here. See you when you get back.”
“Ok… bye” …click!
**wipes forehead**
“OK guys and gals, it’s all good. Ajooja, pass me another beer. Can you turn up the stereo, Nilsa? Will someone please check Dustin before he gets hypothermia and I will tell Bec that she needs to turn over before she gets a nasty sunburn.”
Guest posting can be a chore, but it can also be at lot of fun while the chief is away.
Hello all. I’m Marty Mankins from Banal Leakage.com
I’ve been blogging on and off since February 2002, but became really serious about it on April 1st of this year when I decided I needed to find the best method of getting me back to writing on a regular basis. My previous writing experience was from 1991 to 1996, when I wrote a newsletter, a short-lived magazine, dozens of freelancing gigs and a few research projects for other writers and editors. For the last 12 years, I’ve spent a lot of time trying to find my way in life, fixing other people’s problems and putting myself back into a position of being a writer again.
As my first stint guest blogging (thanks, Kevin), it’s really not as much of a party as I outlined above. Waiting until Friday to post gave me a chance to think of a few subjects I wanted to talk about, but that changed each day. And I wanted to find a lyric that would fit my post. The lyric was the only thing I came up with.
So that’s it? No words of wisdom or a funny antidote or a crazy story?
Well, it wouldn’t be a guest post without discussing something that’s on my mind. And today that would be waiting. Waiting for others.
There are times when I go to pick up my daughter to go somewhere. I always call ahead to make sure she is ready. But once I arrive at her house, I wait for her. Sometimes it’s only 10 minutes. Sometimes it’s longer. Much longer.
I understand that a 16 year old lives by another time schedule than the rest of the world. But I wouldn’t be honest if I said it didn’t test my patience level. And I’m a pretty patient person, but as I advance in age, my patience level withers at a faster pace.
And it’s not just my daughter’s lag time that keeps me waiting. I come into contact with many others throughout the week that I need to wait on.... in line at lunch, at the grocery store, behind the SUV filling up at the gas station, at the many red lights I am stopped at on my way to work. It seems like an endless loop of delays.
I deal with it the best I can. And where I have a voice, I am hoping that the guilty party will hear me and react accordingly. Until then, I simply plan to wait. And wait some more.
So with that, it’s time to kick everyone out, clean up this mess and get the hell out of here so I can start my Memorial Day weekend. Cheers, have fun, be safe and come over to visit me at Banal Leakage. Uh… Oh yeah… and come back here once Kevin returns next week.
