Melody Watson on living creatively, and taking advantage of a short attention span.

This blog has moved

Melody — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 01:07:45 +0000

If you've been coming to visit and not seeing any updates lately, sorry about the confusion. I moved my blog a while back and just discovered that the notices weren't necessarily put in the best places. Thought I'd post here and

Slate.com's Olympics Sap-o-Meter

Melody — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 13:55:00 +0000

Sappiest words used during the NBC broadcast of the Olympic events and medal ceremonies? Quick, before you look, what words belong at the top of the list? There's a cloud tag of top pics below!

Slate.com's Sap-o-Meter is brilliant! Plus now they have a widget for your blog or Facebook account. If you're so inclined to

Because I promised I wouldn't post the other one

Melody — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 12:55:43 +0000

Since Mr. Pie came into the world, this family paparazzi phenomenon has evolved. Everybody seems to have a camera on hand when he's around and there's more than one family member in the vicinity. Works both in our favor and against us: he's generally the subject and so the original kids in this family aren't as likely to

Not because it's the best business decision

Melody — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 12:31:00 +0000

Within two hours, I'll be surrounded by nine smiling ladies and one man. There will probably be one or two canes and a walker crowded in among the purses and feet. The chairs will be tricky to maneuver but everyone will be gracious as they move between the tables that fill the room. Thousands of beads will be spread out on those tables and I'll be just a little frantic as always, trying to make sure everybody has what they need at once.

It's a scene that's played out in my life at least once a month - sometimes more - over the past few years. Some of the faces will change. Occasionally I won't

New Stuff

Melody — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:22:00 +0000

Yesterday I bought one of these. Now maybe my

Found perfect distraction from meds-induced turmoil

Melody — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 19:11:00 +0000

Yesterday, after my sister had a heart-to-heart with me over the phone, explaining that she thought the time had come for me to consider switching from the Vyvanse I've been taking this week, to another ADD med, I gave myself permission to acknowledge just how hard a week it's been. And how much I needed something immediate to distract me from the chemical-induced angst or sadness or anxiety or irritability or depression or Whatever It Is That Specific Prescription Brought To My Life Which Took Away My Particular Blend Of Optimistic Light. Since it was the person who

Still not sure about Twitter? Maggie Mason can help.

Melody — Sat, 16 Aug 2008 14:17:00 +0000

Just finished reading a fun article by Margaret Mason on Twitter etiquette. She's the same person who wrote No One Cares What You Had for Lunch: 100 Ideas for Your Blog, that I subsequently mentioned in my blog back here at It's true: they probably don't care.

A little snippet for you to set the tone:

Collaborative feedback: great no matter how it's conveyed

Melody — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 15:16:00 +0000

The immediacy of colleague feedback in collaborative projects quickly goes missing when you go to work for yourself. Seeing the flash of insight in a coworker's eyes and hearing, "That's a great idea. Let's do that!!!" is something I miss a lot. It's a little thing but this kind of give-and-take is important.

Because of my recently-increased work flow solitude, I probably placed more weight on some recent email responses to

Colorful appendages, caffeine withdrawals & other thrilling details

Melody — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 13:42:00 +0000

Forgot to buy some decaf yesterday. Oops. My self-mandated project, now that I'm returning to the land of Consistently Medicated ADD Types, is to decrease my caffeine intake. By rather a lot. There will certainly be no cold turkey for me. I need to be functional and this girl has gotten herself a considerable dependency on the stuff. Never mind. Today I only get 2 cups of coffee. (As opposed to the notably-higher

There's more than one way to get a new car!

Melody — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 22:46:00 +0000

In February I bought 4 pristine tires for my car. In May I had all its belts replaced. Including The Timing One people are always groaning about. Somewhere along in there - I want to say between the tires and belts but who can say for sure - I got new front brakes. Several weeks ago I got a new battery. Friday when I picked up my 18 year old Toyota from the goodnatured fellas who will fall over from shock if