Abigail Mumford

nemo

February 8, 2013February 7, 2013 abby mumford

at the time i’m writing this, the name nemo reminds me of this:

rather than this:

but by the time the day/storm is over that association may very well change.

in other weather news, this video is a lot like my reaction a few years ago when i was walking home from work in the middle of the blizzard and thunder cracked through the sky and my heart.

although, come to think of it, my response might have been a more of AAHHHH, THE WORLD IS ENDING as opposed to the sheer wonder that reporter radiates. i also might have used slightly stronger language than him.

if you’re also in the path of this fishy blizzard, may you be warm and cozy this weekend. if you’re not in the path of this storm, may your weekend be productive and fruitful and may you continue to associate nemo with a fish and not bucket loads of snow.

conversations with strangers #50

February 5, 2013February 4, 2013 abby mumford

strangers + me. oh yeah, we’re talking.

i struggled to balance the stairs, my suitcase, and my purse all while pulling my boarding pass out of my pocket. it was folded multiple times to fit in my coat pocket which, after i’d freed it, added unfolding the paper to my list of balancing acts.

her: are you mad because your team is losing [the super bowl]?

me: no, i’m tired and concentrating on unfolding this for you quickly so i don’t miss the shuttle. *hands over boarding pass* besides, my team is the pats. they’ve already lost.

her: yeah, you need to tell them to step it up. *returns boarding pass* head over to lane 2.

me: will do. thanks.

when you’ve got a tight connection + delays on the first leg of the trip due to the de-icing of the plane + a general weariness about you, it’s bound to show on your face. i didn’t realize just how much until that woman commented on it. i hustled out the door, grinning when the shuttle bus left a minute after i’d hopped on board. i guess there was some sunshine inside me.

feelings

goodbye

February 1, 2013January 31, 2013 abby mumford

i don’t want to burden you readers with sad posts, but what i really want to write today is one more thing about grandpa. his memorial service is tomorrow and it’s only fitting i write a little more for him. for me. his official obituary is here. i didn’t gather the facts or write the bones of the article, but i did smooth out the rough edges and bumpy transitions which is only fitting considering that’s what he tried to do whenever he gave us advice.

my original idea for this post was to memorialize the final few quotes he’d sent me making this his 6th guest post, but really, there were only two pieces i wanted to share. the first is this:

Words are things; and a small drop of ink / Falling like dew upon a thought, produces / That which makes thousands, perhaps millions, think. Lord Byron, (1788-1824)

it arrived on 1/22/13, six days after he passed, in the form of a “do you want to keep subscribing” email. you see, grandpa had signed me up for “a word a day” and at the bottom of each one was a quote, a thought of the day, if you will. i knew where he was getting the quotes he’d forward to me, after all, i was getting the very same emails, but i pretended i didn’t know. often, i wouldn’t even read all the way through the “word a day” emails because i didn’t want to spoil the quote. i wanted what he sent to be a surprise — both the words of another and which words made him think of me.

but with that email, the gig was up.

it was all on me now — to subscribe, to read, to think. this last “thought of the day” was so apt, so spot on, so something he would have forwarded to me, i cried. i cried because i missed him and our irregular regular communications but also because i could no longer pretend.

the magic from those “a word a day” emails was gone and the burden of missing him too much, so i refrained from re-upping my subscription. there’s only so much growing up you can do in a day.

the second thing i’ll always carry with me (literally (i printed it out and put it in my wallet) and figuratively) is an email he sent to me on 2.14.12.

Hi Abby – My wish for you today is love. Grandpa

ten words. one line. simple. sweet. honest. necessary.

it’s what i wish for YOU today and all the days.

writing

sneak peek

January 29, 2013January 25, 2013 abby mumford

this is on the front page of my WIP to remind me of the core of the story i’m trying to write:

“It’s the lack,
the gap, the absence
and the silence
that fills me
now.
How can so little
take up so much
space
inside of me?

— Tyler Knott Gregson

general

for the past 2+ years, i’ve been a devoted droid user (sorry brother G). the time came to upgrade and i was insistent on sticking with droid because i liked the user interface and had spent time with the apple user interface on my ipad and found i liked the droid better. i researched phones and found the samsung galaxy III was getting a love of rave reviews.

done.

but then i went into the store to check it out and HOLY SCHNIKEYS. that phone is huge. it’s a man phone, if you can even call it a phone at all. there’s no way i wanted to cart around something bigger than my hand, and none of the other phones appealed to me, so back to square one i went.

over the christmas break, i spent time with people from all areas of my life (family, high school friends, college friends, neighbors) and they ALL had iphones. (well, not brother G.) in the middle of my friend’s engagement party, it hit me. if i had an iphone, i could text with all these people on imessage therefore cutting my text messaging usage by 80%.

much to everyone’s surprise (mine included) i joined the cult when i (with some birthday $ from the folks) purchased the iphone 5 the day before 2013 began. (sorry brother G).

another popular item i hadn’t put much stock into was nora roberts. i’ve read a fair amount of that brand of extraordinarily prolific authors and haven’t been much impressed, so i assumed nora roberts was just like them. i mean, when you’re putting out multiple books a year for decades, how good can they be?

OH, SO GOOD.

my first indoctrination was the audiobook of THE WITNESS and it’s still my favorite of hers, but every other one i’ve read (THREE FATES) or listened to (CHASING FIRE) has blown away my expectations. her characters are so richly developed, her settings are vivid, her plots are fast paced and intriguing, and her writing just plain sucks you in.

she also writes the IN DEATH series under the pen name jd robb and if my book hungry gals are to be believed, i’m in for a treat when i start up with those. i should be annoyed with myself for holding out, but this just means there are so many more books available for my reading pleasure.

have you done anything popular or unpopular (lately) and lived to tell the tale? DO SO NOW. or, feel free to lead me into the land of popularity and tell me what else i need to be doing/reading/eating. DO SO NOW.

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this:

Rate this: