Sometimes, I just need a break. The desire to write for myself comes and goes, ebbs and flows. Just as life and happiness and productivity and motivation comes and goes, ebbs and flows.

I’ve been lucky to have time and energy and health to hike quite a bit this summer but this weekend holds an adventure of epic proportions, and it’s about all I can think about these days. Four. More Days.

What I feel like sharing is more than I have the energy to actually relate. So instead, here’s a photo from a recent hike. That will suffice for now.

 

You guys! It’s the last day of January.

I’m not quite sure where the month went. I’m having trouble computing that tomorrow is February, and it’s only four weeks long.

As it turns out, winter in Alaska hasn’t been too bad. There’s been chatter around town that the season has been mild, and I’m pretty ok with that. This place isn’t like the rest of the state that gets humongous amounts of snow. It’s mostly rain around these parts, and we’ve already had a foot of it in 2014.

Either way, It’s Friday. The weather is supposed to be decent today and this weekend. I scheduled time on my calendar to go to the gym so that is FOR SURE happening. I have a couple projects lined up, along with some chores to do. The weekend has all the makings to be a good one.

This morning this article caught my eye: Stop telling single women they’re fabulous. Except, we totally are. But she has a point.

PolitiFact fact-checked the State of the Union. Because that’s what they do. And it’s that time of year.

I clicked on this link — because J. Crew — and squeeeeeed with joy. Hooray for spring color. In case you didn’t already know, Jenna Lyons is a genius.

Discovered these blogs this week: Kendi Everyday, Making it Lovely and The Fresh Exchange.

Currently reading: Chasing Alaska, by C.B. Bernard. I met the author in December when he came through town and he was so crazy nice. And I’m loving the book. So it’s a win-win.

Happy weekend!

Since
I started working in an office and had a few minutes of spare time to
peruse the interwebs, I’ve taken on the habit of emailing myself links
to information that I have to read later. The problem is they pile up quickly.

 

And it starts early in the morning. Twitter is an ever running machine, constantly bringing me new articles on a variety of subjects from scads of writers. The supply will never run dry. From the moment I hop on the internet at 7 a.m. to the moment I get off around 9 p.m., if I'm being good and going to bed on time, I am constantly assaulted (?) with terribly interesting things to read. It's all a voracious reader could ask for.

 

This
internet is rabbit-hole of information and anyone who has spent more
than 10 minutes can attest to that. Since my work requires me to be in
front of a computer for at least half the day, I have instant access to
the webs which can keep me surfing all day long if I’m not careful. Or
disciplined.

To
combat losing something, because I have no idea how I found it in the
first place, or it needs more than the two
minutes I can afford to devote to it, I email the link to myself
and save it for later. Most of these messages are marked with a “to
read” label in my inbox so when I’m looking for something to pass the
time or when I have a few minutes to spare, I can just click
on one of the links and be interested and engaged all over again.

 

The problem is there are other things I should be doing most of the time. Like working and doing a bit of writing myself. Or heaven forbit I get outside in the afternoons!

I am becoming more and
more comfortable with the idea that I don’t have to save and read everything. I
will most certainly miss something interesting, and that’s really ok.
But the things I do capture usually sit in my inbox for a week or two
before I remember they are there for my enjoyment.

Not to mention my list of books to read grows by two or three every week and the though of keeping up with it is bleak. Though I hear the winters here are rough so there maybe an excess of time during the dark days to get my reading on.

But for now, reading the saved links in my inbox would be a better use of my
time than hours of TV on Netflix. Note to self: read more, TV less.

I think it's doable.

Standing next to my car and having a raven drop dead out of the sky next to me was certainly a weird way to start my day.

Last week we had a power outage that lasted a few hours in the late morning. There was a problem at the hydroelectric dam and the whole island was out of power for about 3 hours or so.
The running joke is, when the power goes out, the public utilities blames it on an eagle. Apparently, while the birds are beautiful, they are extremely dumb. At least, that’s what I’ve been told. I’ve never been close enough to an eagle to ask him.

So when a bird was zapped by a power line and dropped to the street right next to me, all I could do was look at the thing and see if it was an eagle. Thank goodness for me it was a plain old raven and not a bald eagle. I really think I would have had a different reaction if it was a baldy, though I can’t say I would have been shocked.
And after standing there looking at the dead bird for a minute or two, I got in my car and drove off. Like it was something I see everyday. Which, of course, it isn’t.

My name is Marjorie Clark. I’m a write out of Seattle, Washington.

I am particularly interested in startups and the intersection of tech and culture. Also ranking high on the list; thick-cut bacon, local breweries, and her dachshund Ellie.

This portfolio is under construction, so please pardon me while I get things under control. In the meantime, feel free to get in contact by completing the form below, or directly via email at: marjiebc[at]gmail.com.