Good-bye to Corolla

We're staying on the beach in Corolla, which is the next town over from Duck, NC.  It has been an amazing week.  Of course, I've been wet twice fully clothed in the past two days, but who cares!!  Yesterday we went kayaking.  It was a glorious day, all sun and just a soothing breeze.  Good thing since I went straight into the water trying to get into the kayak!  But I'm more often hot than cold, so the next two hours of peaceful (and sometimes vigorous) rowing was really wonderful.  We leave the beach today, so I went down to lay out and listen to the waves crash and enjoy another sunny morning.  I watched carefully and thought I had the waves all worked out, but as I was lying on the sand, up came a particularly ambitious wave and I was soaked.  Again, who cares!  It is so beautiful.  The photos here tell the story.

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Outer Banks

The beach here this morning was so gorgeous.  I took a 45-minute walk and, although it had rained last night and it rained throughout the day, it wasn't raining when I walked.  I admit, this is what I had in mind when I wanted to spend 9 months by the ocean.  Not the size of the house (8 bedrooms, 3 stories), but the location.  The huge picture windows look out across the dunes to the restless waves.

Tomorrow was supposed to be clearing, but now they're calling for more rain.  Rain isn't a problem when there are 15 people and 2 dogs in the house!

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Now THIS is Spring!

Statue of Liberty and Battery Park City

Tulips in Herald Square

Today was an amazing 63 degrees and sunny.  It was breezy, but it felt so good to get outside, I didn't mind the wind at all.  I started the day with my 45 minute walk, going up Sixth Ave. from 35th St. into the bottom of Central Park.  That means I walked about 3 miles in that time, round trip.   Then a friend called and invited me to lunch downtown, so we talked, ate orange beef and pork fried rice, and walked by the harbor.  Tonight I've ordered Maryland ham barbeque from Virgil's...they'll deliver it to my hotel room.  I'm happy.

Tomorrow I'll take the train from Penn Station to DC.  I look forward to the next 4 weeks.

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In the City I Love

My hotel is kitty-corner to Macy's

Monday night, I decided I needed to leave the Vineyard and spend a few days in New York before heading to DC.  So, right now, I'm sitting in bed watching CNN (no cable at cottage) and eating a Greek salad I got from around the corner.  (Did I mention I had 4 places from which to choose just by walking down the block!)

On the writing front, my eHow articles are earning about $1 a day (which is 10x what they were making last month, due mostly to the volume of articles I've written).  Textbroker is ok, but I put a lot of effort into writing the article for a minimal pay, with no residual benefits.

Wishing my friends a Happy Passover.

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Latest Textbroker Articles

International Business - Product Life Cycle, 3 Main Reasons Countries Fight for Industrialization, Types of Tariffs   (I'm pretty sure this was someone's homework assignment!!)

Still Writing Like a Fiend

Got in my 45 minute walk this morning before the skies opened up.

It's good that I have an indoor hobby, or I'd be going bonkers!

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My latest txtbrkr articles:

Full-Body Spring Tone-Up

The Importance of Frequently Checking Your Drain

(I can't paste text into the blog for some reason on Mac...I'll have to figure that out.  Let me know if you'd like a copy of each.)

The State of Affairs

Years ago (or yesterday?) I wrote Like You

Which spoke of bronze skin on the beach,

Of late autumn leaves, and Passover herbs,

Of honey and tears, of ancient tribal memory,

Of naked bodies wrapped in furs,

And of mystery as dark as a gypsy's curse.

The world has changed, and so too I, my well-worn weary ways...

Tomorrow a Bride He Takes

His age-old dream, their joining hands,

A soul to mate,

Under the open chuppah stands,

For Tomorrow morn a Bride He Takes.

Some wine to bless,

The glass he breaks,

Ketubah made, and kisses, yes,

When Tomorrow eve a Bride He Takes.

And I, alone, abandoned long.

Tears?  No, but yes, heart aches.

Memories come, some weak, some strong,

While Tomorrow night a Bride He Takes.

Freelancing

In case you haven't noticed, I'm really having fun writing (and publishing!) articles.  I'm getting faster with the textbroker.com articles, so now I can do about 2 a day easily.  Of course, in order to replace my regular income, I'd have to write 50!  So, it's a fun hobby.

Yesterday, I wrote articles on the advantages of buying kitchen cabinets online and on the elements of thinking about refinancing.  The refi one had to be in a "spun" format, which I'd never heard of.  The client did give an example and, I looked it up on Google (good old Google!) and learned that it's a method used to get the same article listed multiple times on search engines by choosing words, phrases, sentences, or entire paragraphs that could be phrased differently.  I joined a free spinning website that, once you decide on replaceable phrases and supply the variations, it produces a document to submit, and it plays Russian roulette with each of the variations.  It's kind of cool!

I also took my second 45-minute walk yesterday (the photos were snapped on my cell phone on the way back).  I walked 2.6 miles in that time.  My goal is to get to 5 miles in 45 minutes (I'll have to run) by 6/15.

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76 Days Left on Martha's Vineyard

Sights along my walk

Not that I'm counting.  I'm looking forward to the next month.  I spend 3 weeks away - the first in North Carolina on The Outer Banks, and the next 2 in Maryland.  Laurie and I will spend a few days in MD, then a few days in NYC, then a week or so in MV.  I hope the weather improves.

I took my first 45-minute walk today.  I went towards Oak Bluffs, but had to take three turns around the boat ramp parking lot before the bridge because it becomes very narrow and there's no sidewalk.  The most interesting part of the walk (no offense to the rest) was the parking lot.  There were seagulls aplenty; a scallop in every beak.  (That must be the bird equivalent of FDR's a-chicken-in-every-pot depression era speech.)  The pavement was littered with scallop shells plucked from the pond and recently denuded of their occupants.

I got evaluated and promoted on Textbroker.com...that comes with a 40% pay increase, from a penny a word to 1.4 cents per word.  :-)   Tomorrow I will write an article on the advantage of buying cabinets online vs. at your local store.

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