Blog Posts

Holiday Remnants

Anyone here feeling the New Year’s Blues? January always feels like a weird transition period. We’ve come off a run of festivities stretching from Halloween to New Years only to hit a block of “normalcy”. 

So far everyone I’ve chatted with IRL has agreed this past holiday season was “meh”. It’s as though December 2023 unleashed additional challenges for many. Yet coming back to a regular routine seem to trigger anxiety and exhaustion. At least, I know it does for me.

Of course, the wintery weather, whatever that looks like in your area of the world, can bring on a temporary malaise or some degree of seasonal affective disorder. Yesterday I posted a few photos of our dreary weather in Phoenix, which has lingered from about mid-December forward. As much as we Phoenicians moan about lack of rain, having days and days of rainy, cloudy, foggy, windy and *gasp* cold weather with little to no sun in sight has been an adjustment. Still- can’t complain as there is no threat of blizzards out here.

Not to make light of anyone grappling with seasonal affective disorder or post-holiday blues, there are some great resources out there to help us navigate through this time, such as this blog post from Spring Health.

This January feels a bit stranger than usual as I was ready for the holidays to be over, yet there is still this feeling of transition. I, like many of my peers, felt this past holiday season was very “meh”.

My holiday season in particular felt truncated. Work had some extra ‘surprises’ (i.e. extra workload and deadlines), and there various obstacles surrounding many of my friends and family in December. As such I got late start to putting up the Christmas tree and getting the Christmas lights on the house.

So- to help combat these post-holiday blues, I thought I’d share some gratuitous pet photos.

Although I did eventually put up some holiday decorations, it was heavily edited from previous years due to the addition of Sparky, a now 10-month-old kitten I rescued after Easter. Below is Sparky taking it easy during the holiday break.

Sparky at rest. Knocking down ornaments takes a lot of energy.

My artificial tree can go as high at 9ft, but I went with the 7 ft set up and left many of the glass ornaments safely packed away due to the unknown reaction Sparky may have to the tree and decorations. Glad I held back. Sparky was thoroughly fascinated by the tree and viewed it as a vending machine of new toys. I lost count of the number of ornaments Sparky knocked off the tree. 

Sparky in his new favorite hangout.

By Christmas, most of the ornaments on the lower half of the tree had been relocated to the top half of the tree or collected in a box sitting on top of the piano.

Meanwhile across town at my uncle’s house, his 12 year old cat Missy was super fascinated with the Oscar Meyer Weinermobile ornament.

That darn cat.

Don’t worry folks- one lick of the plastic and she promptly lost interest in this ornament.

Leave the flash off your camera when taking pictures of cats.

As such, we opted to not place gifts under the tree this year thanks to our furry friends. Rather, wrapped gifts were left on tables or in closets until Christmas Day. But hey, their antics brought a smile to our faces, and were a definite bright spot of the 2023 holiday season.

One more thing… I had already crafted this post when I learned of the bloguary challenge. Today’s prompt poses the question “do you spend more time thinking about the future or the past?”. While I didn’t specifically answer this question, I do feel this relates to the topic as this was a reflection on the past month. I actually have a lot of things on my calendar in the coming weeks that give me pause to enjoy the present and look forward to the future. I would say it’s an even split for me- I feel it necessary to revisit the past in order to plan out the future. Maybe that is a cop-out, but it’s my honest answer.

Whether you had an awesome holiday season, a “meh” holiday or are currently experiencing a Crappy New Year, let’s remind ourselves to be hopeful for the future. There are always better times ahead.

Thank you for stopping by!

Just Another Sunny Day in Phoenix

Taken at approximately 3:30pm Mountain Standard Time, January 3rd 2024 in Downtown Phoenix. We’re off to a bright start already!

Happy New Year 2024! From Sunny Phoenix Arizona!

Reading Material

I haven’t decided at what frequency I will release zines. My first one was released Nov. 1. I have the second issue drafted and will release it in January.

In the meantime, I recently uploaded a spec script I wrote back in 2015. If you’re looking for a quick read- look no further than my Downloads page. The spec script is meant to be read in less than 30 minutes as it’s literally a teleplay of a 30 minute sitcom.

Description below from my Downloads page:

A Golfer on Probation: Spec script based on the TV show The Goldbergs. Think fan fic- but as a complete script /teleplay for a 30 minute episode of the show. Fans of the Goldbergs – read the episode that never was! If you like TV sitcoms and need something to read, give this a try. Click here to download.

Let me know what you think. Would also love to hear from others who’ve written teleplays. Drop me a note in the comments section below!

Allow Me to (Re) Introduce Myself

Over the past two months, I did a major overhaul of this website. I spent time meticulously crafting a homepage that describes the purpose of my website and blog.  And it just now occurred to me that I should actually create a post explaining my purpose.

Background

Once upon a time- from 2011 to 2014- I blogged on this site under the name NMNPHX. At that time, I’d been reading blogs, thinking about being a blogger and then one day I just created a blog, hastily threw together my first post, and went to sleep.  When I woke up, I had 3 likes and comments. It was inspiring to have hits on my first post.

I didn’t know what I was doing.  I didn’t have a purpose other than I was finding my identity as a writer and I thought a blog would lend credibility to my artistic endeavors.

I struggled with naming my blog- NMNPHX was my initials smushed together with the abbreviation for my hometown. I leaned heavily on location as my theme – prompting readers to sit back “enjoy the desert vibes”.

Along the way, I somehow created content engaging enough to gain a decent amount of followers.

Why Print and Flip?

I needed a fresh start for this site. I wanted to be more than just a blog. One aspect I did not have under NMNPHX was producing tangible content. These blog posts are one component of Print and Flip, but the other ingredient is FREE downloadable content meant to entertain and inspire. With that, Print and Flip was born as it describes the action of printing out content and flipping the paper off of the printer.

The Download Page

Right now, downloadable content will include zines and activity books I’ve created.  Future downloads will include short fiction content and digital art. Bookmark this page as this will house the downloadable content.

Hint: there is already free content available for download!

What’s your Story?

Now that you’ve heard my reason for creating this site- tell me your story? Drop me a note in the comments below. How long have you been blogging? What’s your purpose, your motivating to keep blogging?

I can’t wait to hear your story!

Puzzles for Thought

One thing that I find sparks thought and creativity when I’m in a void is to work on some puzzles and other activities on paper.

I often print out one-to-two-page activities or short stories whenever I have 10-20 minutes to drink a cup of coffee.

I recently made my own one-page activity book that I’d like to share with all of you. The Mini Coffee Lover’s Activity Book is now posted on the Downloads page.

Click here to navigate to the Downloads page and get your free copy.

Roosevelt Row Revisited

My very first WordPress post ever back in 2011 was the photo below. I titled the post “Shopping Cart Pirate Ship”.

Shopping Cart Pirate Ship

This was built on the corner of 3rd St and Roosevelt St in downtown Phoenix. I initially spotted this through the bus window coming into work. I used my lunch break to take this photo and I’m glad I did. By the next morning, the ship had vanished.

I’m revisiting this because in reviewing classwork from a photography course I took in 2021, I realized I had taken photos of this same intersection. Even though I’ve seen the changes in this area day in and day out for the past 15 years, the change in this exact intersection from 2011 to 2021 still surprised me.

The vantage point in the 2021 photo is from a different corner of the vacant lot. I inserted red circles in the photos below to highlight the same set of street lights in the two photos.

The buildings in the background are mixed use residential buidlings- essentially apartment and condo communities with retail business on the first floor of each building.

The general area surrounding this intersection is dubbed “Roosevelt Row”, and is branded as an arts district, and is known for having numerous murals throughout the district, such as this one below.

Mural at Light Rail Stop, Roosevelt and Central in Downtown Phoenix.

Roosevelt Row is definitely an interesting area and worth a visit if you are in the Phoenix area. The development you see above is indicative of how the area in general has changed. In many ways it’s more walkable as stretches of vacant lots between the areas numerous art galleries and small businesses have been replaced by housing. There’s a Kroger grocery store and a CVS less than a mile down the street. At any given time, you’ll find numerous people walking their dogs or grabbing a bite to eat then walking back to their home.

Going back to 2011, the walk from my office to the shopping cart pirate ship invoked a feeling of desolation. I was a lone pedestrian sauntering next to sea of cars. I passed more than a few vacant lots on the way.

The funny thing is, I was much more inclined to get out and explore the area back in 2011. I could often find easter eggs in the area like the shopping cart pirate ship. Fast foward to 2023, I’m not as inclined to wander around, despite it being more developed and pedestrian friendly. I’m not at all implying that the development in the area is good or bad. For me, the atmosphere was a little more interesting, a little more magical. It took a little more effort to get out an explore the sights.

I’ll share a little more about Roosevelt Row in the next issue of A Flipping Great Zine. Be sure to follow or subscribe to Print and Flip to get notified when the next issue is posted.

In the meantime, here is my question for you. Do you have a special area of town that you either once loved and has now lost its luster or vice versa? Or… have you ever found your own easter eggs while exploring your city? Please share in the comments below!

Burning Time

Photo: Clock on Table of Classroom @ Phoenix Arts Center, 9/25/21

I chose this photo I took from a beginning photography class 2 years ago. Last year, playing around with Affinity Photo, I applied some fancy effects to the photo and labeled the result you see above “Burning Time”.

The theme of the photo fits for this week. With the holiday season upon us, the New Year less than a month away, and my own passing of time recently completed (i.e. birthday) December always feels like a time crunch to nowhere. The holidays instantly add activities to our calenders, my workload is always elevated at this time of year and all of this somehow leaves me wanting to slow down and do less when it feels like I should be running to complete something. I’m just never sure what.

The raw photo itself was rather ordinary. An vintage-ish looking clock sitting in a classroom. Yet after some experimentation with a software I barely know how to use, I transformed it into something with interest. I didn’t necessarily have a vision on tranforming this photo- it just sort of happened.

More and more, that’s how I end up with completed projects. I just- sort of let it happen. When I think back to times where I was in a creative void, I conviced myself I needed SEVERAL HOURS of the week to produce anything worth sharing with anyone, and if I couldn’t spare that- than all was lost, and I berating myself for spending a Sunday watching football instead of typing up a 300 page novel.

As I’ve eased back into the blogging game, I’m reassuming myself that I just need to spend some amount of time each week towards working on things I want to create- even if it’s only 3o minutes. In thinking of time in small increments, it’s forced me to manage my time better but also set more realistic goals for myself.

I don’t make my living from any of my artistic pursuits- important caveat to the statement above. For those of you reading this, for the bloggers, the writers, the photographers, etc… that have a day job and are navigating the hours to feed the creative side, I’m curious to hear how you’ve approached carving out time to create. Do you ever have those pockets where you’ve felt like you “burned time”?

Aside from that, I hope you enjoy the photo!

No to Nanowrimo

November is many things to many people. In the United States, November is the kickoff to the holiday season, with Thanksgiving as the interlude to main event. In the writing community, November marks the annual Nanowrimo event, in which thousands of people set aside countless hours to create a 50,000 word drafted novel.

I first learned of Nanowrimo through the WordPress community back in 2013. I had no idea what this was, but after reading countless blogs I was mesmerized and decide I HAD TO DO THIS TO BE A SERIOUS WRITER. By Nov. 1 2013, I signed up for an account, found a couple of writing buddies and promptly typed out the intro chapter to an idea I had kicking around in my head.

By around Nov. 7 2013, I had 2900 words completed. Fast foward to Nov. 26 2013- that project is still standing at 2900 words. It wasn’t that I ran out of ideas for content in my novel, I ran out of motivation to participate in Nanowrimo.

About 4 years ago, Nanowrimo crossed my mind again. I logged back into my account, and added a few regional groups to my account. All throughout October 2019, I received emails from the regional moderators of local meet and greets happening prior to Nanowrimo along with all sorts of practical writing advice to outline and plot that next project before Nov 1 along with all the kickoff events happening at the stroke of midnight Nov. 1

I kept thinking – this sounds great. Why not head to my local diner at 10pm on Halloween and spend half the night writing at a booth with strangers. Sounds like an adventure! Oh, and weekly Saturday write ins at the library- why not!

I did none of that. I spent Halloween 2019 with my eyes glued to the Thursday Night NFL game and tossing popcorn balls at trick or treaters that came to my door. My team lost by a touchdown and I was in bed by 10pm. And the next day- any plans I had to participate in Nanowrimo had dissipated.

The next 3 years (including this year), I followed the same pattern… log in, read through the regional forum pages, think about participating. Then do nothing. It’s really perplexing, considering virtual write-ins are now offered. This year in particular I really thought I would participate. I’ve been pushing myself to extend my social circle (topic for a different post) and wouldn’t it be great to finish that novel I started back in 2013?

But like years past, Nov. 1 came and went with no participation on my part. Except this year I took a minute to reflect on why I just can’t seem to jump in.

  1. Q4 is “go time” for my day job. I work in finance for a large company and this time of year has me knee deep in the next year budget cycle, reviewing compensation plans and ensuring current year projects are wrapped up and ready to capitalize before the new year. It’s exhausting.
  2. On top of reason 1, I like eveyone else want to enjoy this time of the year. I went through a multi-year period where I lost my zeal for the holidays and it took several more years to find a new appreciation for participating in the holiday season. Oh- and my birthday lands in the middle of all this.
  3. I don’t want to write a novel. I don’t want to write 100+ pages to tell one story. I would rather write 100 one page stories.

Even though I didn’t participate this year, I took time to read all the advice the moderators of my regional group sent out. One piece of advice that resonated with me is that if you participated in Nanowrimo and did not get to the 50,000 word mark, you should still be proud of any progress made becuase it’s more words than you would have written had you not participated.

This is a valid point. Reading through more forums on the Nanowrimo site, I found many people were, like me, focused on either poetry or short form writing but used the Nanowrimo format to push themselves to create.

With Nanowrimo over in less than I week, I do wish I’ d joined a few local write ins. I think for me, the one big benefit of Nanowrimo is finding a writing community to support you in your writing endeavors. Honestly, that was my primary motivation for wanting to participate this year. For me, I think my path forward, setting a smaller goal like “write for x amount of minutes per day” along with finding a local writing community that meets throughout the year will be my focus.

So now that you’ve read my excuses for not participating, I’d love to hear from you. Did you participate in Nanowrimo this year? Or did you skip it? If you skipped it, have you participated in years past? Did you find a writing community in the process? Or did that dissipate after Nanowrimo was over? Please share your experience in the comments.

A Flipping Great Zine

Hello! For quite some time I’ve wanted to create a zine. Or rather a series of zines. I finally produced an actual zine. It wasn’t as easy as I thought. I have about 5 ideas kicking around, so it was difficult to 1) choose which idea would be the inaugural issue and 2) produce a page worth’s of material that I think would entertain people for a few minutes. I think I have a decent piece of writing material.

I’ve always been fascinated by zines. In fact, this is not my first zine. I wrote zines back in high school with paper and pen/pencil. It was a spoof of Weekly World News. I would produce one paper copy that would get passed around my circle of friends. As long as my friends kept asking for another issue, I kept writing them.

In college, I used to doodle in the margin of my notes. Sometimes I’d draw short comics of things that came to mind when I couldn’t focus on the lecture. Many of those scribblings could have been fodder for a zine.

I’m not sure why I waited this long to get back in the game of making zines. But- there’s no point in looking back.

This first issue was inspired by a weekend workshop I took in Nov. 2021.

You can download a copy here. Instructions on how to fold the zine are here.

Thank you for reading. Please feel free to leave feedback about the zine in the comments below.

Resurrecting those Writing Muscles

I’m back! If you haven’t stopped by in a while, you may notice that I’ve done some cosmetic changes and spring cleaning to this website. NMNPHX originally started out as a blog, but as I’ve been contemplating how to move forward with this space, I decided the blog posts from 10+ years ago no longer fit here. Over the past few months, I’ve copy/pasted my favorite posts from the past and archived them in the cloud so that I still have record for myself of what I published.

As I’m diving right back into “creating”, I hope to reconnect with many of you that are still going strong with your own projects, blogs and other endeavors.

Here’s to a productive year ahead!

Best,

Nicole