Good morning wriders! This morning’s wride got shortened due to my standing 8:00am leads group meeting on Fridays. I did manage to get up at 6:00am and we got rolling by 6:25am. A number of things struck my brain as Ivy (my daughter) and I rolled down the pavement.
The first observation came from how much I enjoy mornings. The sun rose soft in the eastern sky as we wrode. The chill in the air welcomed my mood as well. I loathe the Florida heat. In the coming days our heat index will be over 100, with humidity turning every human into a drip-and-dry being as soon as they stroll out the door.
As the morning light brightened, I reminisced about the handful of loves I’ve enjoyed over the course of my life. With one notable exception, I found myself fondly remembering beautiful days like this as well as the music I associated with each person.
Recently, I allowed someone to grill me about love, past loves in my life, and my views on love. I found it odd how so few loves I’ve had in my life, but my questioner made it sound like I embodied Don Juan or Casanova. Couldn’t have been further from the truth. But, let me get back on topic.
I decided on my wride to post some new poems on my poetry blog (Poetry in Black and White) as well as two songs associated with each person in my past. Hey, I’m a writer and I’m allowed to indulge in insanities by trade, ok? Therefore, for what it’s worth, I will post the poetry project later today (I hope…)
I encourage you to consider feeding your soul with something you love to do. For me, my bicycle, music, spending time with my daughter, and writing in the morning delivers my best shot at a great day. What’s yours? If you’re not taking care of your inner self, you can’t effectively help others at your maximum capacity…
Our four day rain event – tropical storm Debby – finally left us late yesterday evening. This morning’s wride began a bit chilly. A pleasant surprise but unfortunately the cool air lasted about an hour.
On this wride, I dealt with a number of internal dialogues fighting for position of importance. Sometimes, when things like this roil inside, I get frustrated because my music no longer soothes, the exercise feels unimportant, and writing becomes of supreme importance.
Good for the writer in me, right? Well, sometimes. This morning I did not take much time to write. I peppered some notes on my iPhone’s notepad: crazy as sin (someone I met the night before described herself that way and I wanted to remember it); help people; how do you get applause and then accept it within (a live version of Elton’s Funeral For a Friend inspired that one); problems with shiny objects and positivity (I know what it means if no one else does); so many things I don’t understand; Mom alone at home; I could be better about calling.
The last three all came as one big sandwich. I just spent nearly two weeks in West Virginia with my mother and each moment I treasure. The lack of understanding comes from her ability to live on her own quite happily. I don’t know that I could live alone. She putters around and appears so content she almost makes me desire such a life.
But I know myself, and alone does not appeal on a long term basis. Short term, heck yeah! I find myself wanting quiet time a lot. But not a steady diet. I do feel I should call her more often. We never have a bad conversation.
The clear winner in my internalizations, though, is the “help people” rumination. As I continue to work in the ‘infrastructure’ of my “Go Write and You Won’t Go Wrong! Write Your Book in Thirty Days.” book and webinar, I find more and more people anxious to realize their long-standing dream of getting their book written.
I’ve already completed a dry-run webinar, so I feel quite prepared for the August 20, 2012 launch of the first “full-fledged” webinar. I’ve written and published nine books. One I wrote in twelve hours. Another, written on my trip to West Virginia, I wrote in eight days.
I know how to do this. Now I get to help others realize they too can accomplish their writing dreams/goals. Adopting purpose to into my life like this gets me pumped up. Knowing I can help people with something tangible feels great.
The introspection this morning ran along the lines of setting up marketing material to get the word out about the webinar. Tons of logistics ran through my brain: I need to make sure I mention the target word count of 30,000 for this class; I need to pick up a dozen packages of index cards; I need to get up with my graphics design guy; I need to do some rewrites and edits on the manuscript, etc.
The other big introspection for the day traveled along the current lines of positivity running through my life. As I continue to surround myself with positive, forward-thinking and moving people, I find I want to take on every project that pops up. I know better.
As it is, I am embroiled in five book projects in various stages of completion. This situation presents itself as both intimidating and exhilarating. So this day, I welcomed my session with my personal coach. I worked through some of the pressures I feel about all the GOOD going on in my life.
What a problem to need to deal with, eh? One other issue that scratched at my brain stepped into my consciousness after I put my phone back in my pocket and hopped back on the bike. My poetry blog suffers a bit from neglect. I will right that situation shortly.
Wriding my bike each morning allows many excellent things to occur. Today, while I solved none of my internalizations, I did get the opportunity to look at each of them in a positive light. What a wonderful concept!
I look forward to creating my marketing plan for “Go Write…”. I am anxious to write a poem. I get excited about helping people write. I know, with a lot of help from my friends, I will be empowered to step out and not only achieve my goals, but also help others reach theirs.
What a great day! I hope yours goes at least as well.
I realize the quote is “lives of quiet desperation”, but my daughter took issue with the word desperation. Her point? Desperation at least hints of hope. Desolation conveys a more hopeless landscape. I can buy that. In fact, I agree with her. I see people every day who gave up on their dreams and aspirations.
And why not? At every turn in life, people come into our lives beating us down with negativity. We suffer the backhanded criticisms, the “devil’s advocate” syndrome, the naysayers, and the nonsupportive inputs. A number of my friends and acquaintances feel it their duty to tell my why something won’t work or why the idea did not work for them or any number of negative responses.
People, in this world today, we need positive support. We need to surround ourselves with ‘can-do’ supporters who will lend a hand. Yes, a time and place for studying potential unfavorable possibilities can buoy a project. What must happen first delivers the tone of assistance.
When a person plays devil’s advocate from the outset, this person does not positively support your idea. Their reasons can run the gamut of life, from past poor experiences with the idea to jealousy. I agree with the mentality of upgrading the people you hang with the most to a level of positive energy.
Sounds almost crass, doesn’t it? Change your circle of friends? Is this truly “right”?
When the crowd you run with drags down your dreams and aspirations, why continue to allow the chipping away effect on your life to go on? Along with dramatic events, the slow demoralization of your life can lead to a life of quiet desolation.
As I wrote yesterday about television, I see people giving up on their lives. Why be creative? Why put forth effort? My support team will only shoot down my dreams and passions. Let me go watch four hours of television. Let me go veg out on the computer for eight hours.
This quiet desolation runs rampant in our teenagers. Children by the millions in this country believe they actually accomplish something when they kill a few thousand zombies on their computer games. All they actually achieve turns out to be addiction to a product someone else created. The children do not progress to creativity. They do not go out and make something special of their days. They simply play with their electrons and one day wake up into quiet desolation.
I’ve observed my own children get so immersed in a game that all semblance of reality becomes, in the least, an aggravation. I fear for our current generation of teenagers. So many gave up on life before they even truly entered the arena. Our pathetic school systems and government don’t care to do anything of value to change this. And why would the government want a change?
Keep the people fairly uneducated and unambitious and you can control them as long as you provide them with food and shelter. Pretty disgusting times we live in. Fortunately, we do have teenagers who aspire to create and develop and progress forward. In them lay our hope.
I would love to see a major reduction in the quiet lives of desolation in this country. What positive effect can you instill into this day? Random acts of positivity can be infectious. When you take a few moments to compliment a stranger, you never know what ripple effect you may create. What if each of us brightened up ten strangers’ days each day? What do you think would happen in this country?
I already hear the pessimists poo-pooing the idea as Pollyanna. When I look at such a radical change, I see huge success. The change must begin somewhere. We don’t possess a magic light switch which will automatically inspire folk to be nice to one another. Yet, positivity can be contagious. Lifting up someone’s day could ripple through many lives.
Arguments derailed simply because one kind person helped someone under stress feel better about themselves. Heavy-handed discipline reduced because a frazzled parent received some relief in their day.
Why do we accept the current apathy in our country? Why do we believe we own no hope? Why do fellow citizens walk around every day in lives of quiet desolation?
I submit to you that you and I don’t step up enough to lift someone else’s day. We need to help those around us every day even more than the occasional stranger. We should encourage their dreams, their aspirations, their goals. Each of us hold within ourselves a wealth of knowledge on some subject that would help others.
I say, find that knowledge and help people. Lift up the people in your life who can’t or won’t step forward due to their desolation. Don’t give them a one-time boost or compliment and expect a radical change. Lift the people in your life up daily. Impact your world. Help others to find that bridge over the wastelands of lives of quiet desolation.
Like the flight attendants on jets tell you, place the oxygen mask on your own face first so you may better serve those in need around you. Switch your outlook on life to positive, then help others do the same.
Television land got me. More and more I look at television as the scourge of mankind. So many dreams and aspirations die every day by the mind-numbing electrons that whisk our attention into passivity. Oh yes, we laugh, we get excited, we cry – but do we walk away closer to out desires in life or remain on a sinking, stationary plateau?
I’m sure the apparent answer from my perspective jumps out like some throw-back-to-better-times fanatic. I do enjoy some television shows. Dick van Dyke had me laughing silly last night. The man knows comedy. Laughing brings positive benefits to life. Reading a George R. R. Martin novel out of the Ice and Fire series eats up as much time as television. For those uninitiated into this incredible series, the shortest of the five books stands at 967 pages.
The first book, Game of Thrones, grabbed my by the imagination and won’t let go. So before I get tagged for ragging against the boob tube too much, good books can derail me at times.
Yet, when I think of it, all the creativity that goes into writing television shows and books and movies help fuel my imagination. They also help me see plotlines (most plotlines on television are so lame I can tell you what will happen when from the first five to ten minutes). Great plotlines on television seem to be a death knell for the show. Jericho stands as a prime example. One of the best-written shows of the last decade, Jericho lasted but a season and a half. The half was due to a major outcry from devoted viewers (like me).
What does this have to do with today’s wride?
Everything.
While I lay in bed last night laughing my fool head off at Dick van Dyke’s shenanigans, my sleep factor shrunk dramatically. I needed to get up at 6:00am in order to get my two hour wride in before I left for a 9:00am meeting. I slept in until 6:40am, whisked Ivy and myself out the door by 6:50am and returned home at 8:20am.
On the upside, we wrode an hour and a half. On the downside, the impact caused us to not stop and write, I couldn’t shoot any hoops, and I rushed breakfast. Day nine of The Morning Wride wobbled like a Weeble – but it didn’t fall down (that’s for you older folk…). Commitment to our goals comes at a price. Some payments are easy, some payments are not. For some reason, giving up Cheers and Dick van Dyke six nights a week at bed time come tough for me.
Yes, I know all about Tivo and all the myriad recording options. In my younger days, I was a recording nut. I have movies and tv shows by the hundreds if not thousands. But when do I watch them? My days bulge precariously at their seams as it is.
I do love technology. That said, technology robs us of time better spent elsewhere. Technology also assists us to gain more time elsewhere. Is it any wonder we get confused and taxed by the pace of life? The trick with technology, my personal opinion, is knowing when to walk away…and actually walking away.
Often I know WHEN to walk away – I simply DON’T walk away. My brain/imagination/lazy-bone gets sucked into the enticing electrons and boom! My next morning gets impacted.
Balance.
Balance exults itself as the key element in these crazy days of hyper communication and digital technology. Finding balance that does not infringe on critical aspects of your life should manifest itself as a major goal of everyone caught up in the digital tsunami. Family time. Personal growth time. Work time. Sleep time. Exercise time. Spiritual time. Personal entertainment time. Health time.
Those various times all call for attention. The trick of balancing them almost requires a Phd in timeology – or a strong will and commitment to each respective time. For that reason, I have two coaches who help bring me closer and closer to balance.
I lost some sleep time last night. I also lost some exercise time. But that was not all I lost. I also lost the ability to enjoy my surroundings as I wrode my bike. While I enjoyed the time with my daughter (precious) and I enjoyed the exercise (much needed) and I enjoyed the music (comfortable), I did not connect with my surroundings as I like to do.
Ivy and I were a bit rushed. We cut off one of my favorite wriding loops to save a half hour. The impact of messing with my day from the night before is not a new concept to me. When I managed restaurants, one of the key elements to a great day was ALWAYS a strong close the night before. Walking into a mess in the morning would set every employee behind. The scramble to catch up and then get the day going could fray nerves, cause us to go into the unlocking of the doors unprepared, and customers would suffer until we stabilized the day (if we got there at all).
I did not record any video from the wride, nor did I take any pics. I didn’t have time to stop and contemplate nature and its relationship with our lives.
On the up side, however, we wrode. I did not allow my minor setback last night to impede my progress to the goal of wriding every day. Ivy and I talked a lot on this wride. We each took an earbud out and talked at length on subjects of muscle pain (poor girl, she’s graduating from the couch to wriding with her Dad who loves to wride long and fast…), animals (lots of squirrels out every morning), and her propensity to get literally colorfully dizzy when she over-exerts herself.
We talked about food and showers and the fun of wriding in the rain again. We bonded, in other words. She also wrode beside more often than not as opposed to behind me as in days past. Of course I am setting a slower pace for her, especially this morning when she told me ten minutes into the wride that her knees were aching badly. My music selection had blessed me with up-tempo tunes from the outset, so she suffered a bit through my increased pace.
Once she talked to me, of course, I slowed down. Good things come when you stay with your plan on how to reach your goals. One of my plans that helps me reach a number of goals is to wride each and every day. My hope now will be that this experience helps me get the rest I need the night before so I may get up on time.
Also, of course, my hope is I will be less prone to giving in to something like television that diminishes my plans. By the way, the song up above is included, not because tropical storm Debby continues to give us a rain event, but because I resonate deeply with the lyrics. The song perfectly resonates with me in my life in 1990. Funny how a song can transport you back to those feelings… That story is for another day, perhaps. The current rain storm reminded me of the song…
Today, my daughter and I were truly “Riders on the Storm“. With tropical storm Debby off the west coast of Florida, we’re in a four day rain scenario. When I woke up this morning, I actually considered not riding. The thought struck me, in this my eighth straight day of wriding, using a little water as an excuse not to wride could set a bad precedent.
Ivy and I set out around 7:30am. We hit a small patch of rain just before our first stop. From that point on, I felt good about the ride. Once you get wet, what the heck, right? Later, near the end of the wride, we got caught in a nice downpour. This happened right before we went into Publix (local grocery store).
Of course, the store’s air conditioning caused us to ‘feel’ our soaked clothes a lot more than we might have wished, but we rewarded ourselves with a couple Bavarian Cream Eclairs – apiece.
I forgot to take video while the rain pelted us, so this short little snippet of the end of our wride simply shows the aftermath of the rain. I don’t know that I wanted to expose my iPhone to the deluge anyway…
Yesterday, we went on a wride as well. I even had a great idea for my post, but got caught up in an intense, eight hour Age of Empires – Conquerors game with two of my children and three neighborhood children. We battled back and forth for those eight hours, finally forced to stop when parents actually insisted the children eat. Can you imagine? lol!
We paused the game for another day, which I’m sure the lobby for that day being today. I see it coming… So, I will make today’s blog a ‘dual’ post. What struck me most on yesterday’s wride most? The Spanish moss on a section of our wride and Diana Krall.
I took Ivy a different path than I usually follow since the new path heads, indirectly, to the college she will attend in September. Yes, she’s a senior in high school, but all her classes will be collegiate level. Her thrill at getting the opportunity to take all her classes at Daytona State College makes me smile.
While on this route, we came across the Spanish moss. I snagged some pretty decent video of it hanging from the trees while wriding. I wish I had taken a pic of the sign that read, “Don’t Feed the Alligators.” Yeah, right. About the first time I feed one, I’ll be the meal.
We came across my snake again today, by the way. The sucker is only about three feet long, but the little serpent eats well. He’s a fat little booger. I don’t care much for snakes. I’d run him over but for the fear my tires would just kick him up on my back and I’d have a coronary. Better to let him be, I suppose…
While wriding through the lovely Spanish moss adorned trail, Diana Krall popped up in the ol’ iPhone queue with “I Remember You.” While I adore the song, the voice, and the arrangement, I felt an incredible awareness or connectedness with Ms. Krall.
I then realized the SkullCandy earbuds I listened through placed Diana’s voice directly in the center of my head. Very surreal. I was not listening to her through two ears, she was kicked back on her piano bench playing the piano and crooning to me. I’m telling you, for fifteen bucks, these SkullCandy earbuds invited musicians into your head.
I noted the same thing today with Karen Carpenter and Elton. Fleetwood Mac’s “Brown Eyes” from the album Tusk highlighted Christine McVie with the surrounding vocals of Buckingham and Nicks. I’m getting concerts performed directly in my brain. How cool is that?
Wriding today with Ivy was cool. Both physically and emotionally. She had a blast. I had a blast. That’s the way every day should start. I just hope tropical storm Debby doesn’t bring lightning and thunder these next couple days. I do not want to miss my morning wride.
Are you taking time to take care of yourself? You should. You deserve a couple hours each day. Find something you love to do and do it. If you’re anything like me at all, you will discover your productivity and confidence will increase. Give yourself a break and start your days off well.
One side note, I searched for my copy of the Doors’ “Riders on the Storm” while riding through the rain. Somehow, it did not get loaded onto my iPhone. Something being corrected right now…as I listen to it post rain-wride…
Remember to check out my new novel, The Method Writers. It’s available right now on Kindle. The hardcover version will be available the first week of July. Paperback in September. Check out the bookstore at ClearView Press Inc.
I love writing. I love bicycling. I love music. I love basketball. As I’ve written this past week, my early morning (6:00am to 8:00am) wride fulfills all those ‘loves’. This is for you, yes – YOU, dear reader. Find a way to get more balance into your life. For me, I need a ton of balance. I work far too much.
My bicycle, music, writing, and basketball all team up to take me a step closer, ok, a GIANT step closer to balance. Your balance may involved completely different activities. Commit yourself to this step of balance. Here’s why:
My seventeen-year-old daughter let me know she would be interested in riding with me. I’m thinking, “6:00am? Really? No way…” What I did say was, “come on, let’s go.” This morning, she wrode the entire wride. Remember up above when I wrote, “I need a ton of balance?” Time with my children happens to entail a significant portion of that needed balance.
How cool is this? I am getting exercise which helps release positive endorphins into my system, helps me get into shape, helps me lose weight, while listening to my favorite music, getting to shoot some hoops and grabbing some writing time. And now my bed-potato (kinda like a couch potato) daughter wants to wride with me every day?
Priceless.
Want something even better? Even though she suffered a difficult, physical challenge in completing the wride, she stated she may wride her bike to college in September because by then she will be in great shape. Even though I slow my pace down quite a bit so she can wride with me, the HUGE win of spending time with her, getting her into an exercise regimen, and she gets opportunity to write and listen to music as well, I am dumbfounded.
When you step into action rather than sitting back and figuring out the perfect solution, amazing things happen. This may not come across to you, the reader as incredible as it manifests in my life. I’ve realized for a long time I desire more connection and interaction with my children, but finding that comfort zone for them and myself has not been an easy task.
Yet, contrary to that last statement, the comfort zone popped up simple as breathing. Set yourself into motion and say, “yes” when opportunities present themselves. The ramifications of my morning wride now take on exponentially loftier repercussions than what I set out to do.
This may sound selfish, but I assure you, the statement does not contain a selfish though – when you take care of yourself, you are then better able to serve others. Just like flying, if the oxygen masks drop, you’re advised to put yours on first so you then can help others.
I put myself in motion to take care of my physical and emotional needs by riding my bike, listening to music and writing each morning. Then a basketball pops up the very morning I contemplated how nice it would be to shoot hoops on my morning wride. Then shifting my writing to this blogsite rather than Poetry in Black and White revived this key blog. This writing is more appropriate to this blog as well. Then my daughter commits to wriding with me the entire summer. Then she contemplates wriding to school in the fall.
See what happens when you set yourself in positive motion? I see I still need a lot more balance in my life. I have three other children at home. I am now more comfortable with how this balance will come about. As I continue to place myself in motion, the balance will come as long as I stay open to it. Like Loral Langemeier says, “Just say Yes!” If you don’t know who Loral is, you should go check her out.
Place yourself in motion. Positive motion. Good things will happen. Be open to them. The song on my wride that struck me was a live version (above) of Saturday Night’s Alright for Fighting. I took some photos of fallen trees, but those will be used on my PIBW blog.
Yesterday I wrode in the wrain (is that annoying? ). I only suffered through about five minutes in a light wrainfall, but later on my wride, I looked up at intense clouds staring me in the face (hey, I would have spelled it “phace except that would break my consistency with the “wr…” thing”…).
Storm Bike Ride
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One of the hazards of early morning wrides will be the propensity to get caught in a little wrain. Unfortunately, those clouds did not come across as a ‘little’ wrain. I did make it home, dry and in one piece. The thrill of racing the wrain gifted me some fun,though…
Today’s wride flew by quick. On Fridays I must attend a ‘leads group’ meeting at 8:00am. Since my normal wride time happens to run from 6:00am to 8″00am, I must figure something out for next week.
This morning I learned I could wride faster than I believed possible. My pace can pick up given proper motivation. I must jealously defend my sleep time. I stayed up late watching the disgusting Lebron James, Dwayne Wade, and company win the NBA Championship. What a waste of my time. Sorely disappointing, mainly because a couple egotistical thugs won it all, but isn’t that the way of the world today…
No sense going down the negativity road. In a speech I attended on Tuesday, the speaker revealed that people must come up with thirty-two positive thoughts for every negative to simply break even. We shoot ourselves not only in our feet when we buy into negativity, but also push forward our own destruction.
I’m convinced that when we strive to attain something good and positive through the use or assistance of other good and positive people, we insure our progression forward to the dreams AND goals we’ve established. Negativity should hold no sway in our lives. Challenges, hurdles, obstacles, yes, but when we invite negativity into our hearts, it sets seed quickly and grows exponentially fast.
Remaining positive in your outlook takes a lot of self-awareness, a ton of observational skills, and a surrounding group of people committed to a positive, goal oriented outlook on life. I’ve heard this for years. I find life amazing in how many times I’ve made that previous statement, “I’ve heard this for years,” and never used the information.
We are under attack. Even the television attacks us. How many of us look fit and trim like the bulk of the folk on tv? When someone gets depicted more like a cross section of our country, those people tend to be made out to be less than desirable. Nothing new under the sun there, I know, but it appears people must hear these truths over and over and over simply for the message of positivity to sink into their hearts.
I find I have little use for negativity anymore. My position is to walk away whenever things get out of hand. Easy to write and say, not always so easy to do. This picture comes from this morning’s wride. As I rode off down the wroad beginning my wride, I felt the urge to look back over my shoulder. Those clouds were so big and real I had to stop and take a pic…
I will get more rest tonight so I can write more intelligibly tomorrow. I do like the transition to this blog site vs my Poetry in Black and White site. An author should do a better job of keeping readership informed – this site is a perfect fit.
Poetry is where I dump my heart out every now and then and clean up the mess (as best I can). Stop by and check PIBW out sometime.
I desire to pass on valuable information on things I’ve learned to people every chance I get. I’ll be teaching a course through Adult Education beginning July 9th on how to write a book in thirty days. Anyone local should jump on this. My online webinar is very hot right now. My target dates for launch of the next two webinars are August 21, 2012 and August 23, 2012.
I am transferring “The Morning Notepad” from my Poetry In Black and White blog. I believe I will rename this post “The Morning Wride” since I combine bicycle riding and writing. The material fits better on this blog. I will continue to post new off-the-heart poems on PIBW often, but an overview of my morning ‘wride’ and writing experience needs to be on myauthor site. I also desire to write about how I am helping people write their books. This site is now dedicated to helping others. I will use my experiences and insights to pass on writing tips I’ve learned.
I ride my bicycle every morning and stop along the way to use the notepad on my iPhone – hence The Morning Notepad. I certainly hope you enjoy your experience here. I also hope something I write helps you in some manner. Also, please make sure you check out my poetry blog, Poetry in Black and White.
This morning’s song that struck me came from good ol’ Jimmy Buffet.
Yesterday’s ‘wride’ found me with a basketball that beckoned me off my bike. I shot hoops for about a half hour. I noted my free throw percentage to be quite low, around 50%. After a couple moments, I realized I was not focused properly. As soon as I corrected my focus, I my percentage jumped to 70%. I then went on my merry way.
This morning, I shot free throws again, shooting in the 70% range – good, but not by my standards. I wondered what was missing. The thought occurred to me I might be ‘over-focusing’. Sure enough, when I stepped to the line, grabbed my focus and went into motion immediately, I hit fifteen shots in a row.
Some of these fifteen shots I nearly released incorrectly, but I adjusted as soon as I felt an issue. Isn’t this the way we should write and run our businesses? We need focus, no doubt. But sometimes, don’t we over-focus and take ourselves out of the game by writing conservatively? Or making conservative business decisions far later than we should have?
I know this holds true in my life. I found the key of focus. Now I realize too much of a good thing can hold me back from maximizing my efforts. Focus, motion, adjust. Aren’t bicycle rides with music and basketball a hoot!
). I only suffered through about five minutes in a light wrainfall, but later on my wride, I looked up at intense clouds staring me in the face (hey, I would have spelled it “phace except that would break my consistency with the “wr…” thing”…). 
