TGIF and Haiku

May 16, 2014May 10, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 20 Comments

Friday at last. As amazing as it is the month is half over. Soon we will be graced with the Memorial Day holiday which is worth the expectation of good times, weather and a little time off. Of course we must keep going for another two weeks before the promise of pleasure. Today’s Haiku is a small tribute to the fact that the winter weather is finally behind us and the warmth of summer nearly upon us.

Shiver in the cold,

Too long waiting for the sun . . .

Complaining, too hot.

Friday the Weekend Eve – Haiku

May 2, 2014April 28, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 24 Comments

Friday again means time for a little Haiku to help celebrate the fact that we made it all the way. (Okay so maybe there is eight more hours of today, but still tonight be the night. Weekend eve . . . woo hoo). Hopefully you will have a restful weekend and will be able to hit Monday (just seconds away) with vigor. Here is today’s Haiku or maybe a Haiban (not really sure)

It is spring today,

Rivers made of snow cascade . . .

Daffodils now live.

Friday Again so Soon – Ha Ha

April 25, 2014April 22, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 21 Comments

We finally made it to Friday. I have to say this was one hell of a week. I am working on my third novel and have set a goal to write 1000 words a day. This week I fell short. Not because I didn’t want to write , but I was busied out with projects needing done and pets needing help. It wasn’t as bad as I thought not achieving my goal, so I now need to whip myself into a frenzy and get back on the horse. It reminds me of the old question when faced with something which you believe has dire consequences. “What is the worst that could happen?” Once you face that question dealing with the issue is more manageable. So when I was pulling my hair out about missing daily numbers, I asked myself, “What is the worst that could happen?” I figured the worst would be a week’s delay in finishing my book. Since I don’t skydive, if I finish my book a week later than planned, it is no big deal. I don’t think the world will even notice. Okay I feel better. Now to the Margarita. Oh I almost forgot the Haiku. Here it is:

Worrying too hard,

About phantom dire results . . .

Breathe in deeply peace.

Friday is Haiku Day

April 18, 2014April 14, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 36 Comments

Today is known affectionately on Fiction Favorites as Haiku day. It is also the last day of the work week and a day we all look forward to having completed. It is also a day when we can take a moment to reflect on the previous week and take stock of what we have accomplished. Of course we need to be pretty sure of those things we put down on the accomplishment side of the ledger. One of the things I accomplished this week is a complete set of photos of my FJ 40. In order to do this, I had to put the roof and doors back on. The roof is no small feat since it weighs close to 400 pounds dripping wet. Now you may ask, why a full set of photos of your 1978 FJ 40 Land Cruiser? Well it is a sad day, but a day I knew was coming for the last year. It is now time to sell my beloved FJ.

I’m not selling her because I’m no longer in love. No far from it. I am selling her because I no longer have the time to pay attention to her as she has become accustomed. She sits for weeks with no-one to play with and talk. Her terminal rust is not getting any better and I have no time to treat the condition properly. Her heart keeps beating and she gets worn down since she must be driven routinely or her sensors and systems begin to malfunction. She becomes deflated with the lack of use. In short, I have another lover, my writing, with whom I am totally committed and it is not fair to her to stay with me.

I originally got her as a project car and did a lot of work to put her on the road. Now I must turn to other things and set her free. Oh yes the Haiku, I almost forgot. It’s titled Goodbye.

Goodbye by John W. Howell

Together is good,

One absent the other not . . .

A new day is here.

How about you. Do you look back and evaluate your week?

Friday Haiku is as Does

February 28, 2014February 23, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 29 Comments

Finally Friday and time to get ready for the weekend. My favorite part of the weekend is not necessarily taking time off, but the thought time off is completely up to me. I have a self-imposed schedule that is a killer, but on the weekend it seems I cut myself some slack and goof off. It usually starts with a Margarita on Friday night to set the mood. It then works its way into actually taking time to relax. This is very hard for me and need to plan to release on a particular project. So this week’s Haiku hopefully captures this spirit. Hope you enjoy it.

The Line by John W. Howell

Friday is a line,

Drawn quite unnaturally . . .

Between life and work.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

TGIF is as TGIF Does

February 21, 2014February 20, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 25 Comments

Thank goodness it is Friday. It has been a hectic week. Right in the middle of everything my internet went down. After about two hours with the tech rep it was decided they had network problems. Was kind of funny since they swore up and down it was something wrong with my computer. You have to wonder about service protocols when I explained that:

My PC could not connect.
My wife’s Apple iPad could not connect.
My wife’s Apple Mac book could not connect.
The Femto cell which allows us to receive wireless calls could not connect.
The TV and VCR which are connected to the internet could not connect.
All our iPhones could not connect.

Yet, the tech continued under the assumption the problem was with my computer. FINALLY the engineering group got on the phone and did a download and upload path test. GUESS WHAT? The @#$%^&* problem was in the network. That’s not all. In the process, the tech did a hard boot of my router and reset all the values back to default. The next day we figured out all our Apple products needed a different frequency which we had set up originally. ANOTHER HOUR ON THE PHONE. Totally frustrating.

I did have to think that no animals or children were hurt in the drama and as a result, got over the feeling of being duct taped to a phone. So here is a little Haiku to take you to the weekend:

Been on hold an hour,

Internet is not working . . .

Told to visit web.

TGIF is as TGIF Does

February 14, 2014February 9, 2014 ~ John W. Howell ~ 32 Comments

Friday is here. Happy Valentines day. Feels like we have been pulling a sled packed with tons of ice. Oh wait a minute, we have been pulling such a sled and have new meaning to the term “huddling masses.” I don’t think I have ever been this cold for this long. We normally have temperatures thirty degrees warmer and none of us are prepared for this. We go outside in flip-flops and shorts this time of year. If one were to do that now a frost bite kit should be carried along as well. It is so cold (how cold is it?) I saw a sea-gull trying to hitchhike to Miami. It is so cold, the coyotes have pulled out their human fur wraps. It is so cold, the pelicans have their bills packed with frozen fish. Anyway enough of the Henny Youngman jokes. Here is a Haiku to celebrate the coming spring.

It is damn fridged,

Spring is a far away dream . . .

Beer stays real cold.

The Best Workday Is as The Best Workday Does

November 15, 2013November 14, 2013 ~ John W. Howell ~ 20 Comments

Friday is the day we have been waiting for. We started out the week on Monday and made some personal notes to self that we would never ever party like a rock star again. Look at us today. We are working our duff off so we can go out tonight for another meeting of the Bacchus Brothers Social Club. WHAT IS WRONG WITH US ANYWAY? Did we not learn a valuable lesson last week? Did we not make it home in one piece? Did we not swear to the ceramic deity that we would never cast major dispersion onto the still waters again? Yet here we are looking anxiously forward to another Friday night and weekend. I think insanity has been described as repeating the same action expecting a different outcome. Okay so here is a question:

How many think that the number of drinks we had last week will not produce the same effect as before is we do it again this week? Anyone? Anyone? Bueller? Bueller? *Crickets*

I thought not. Of course the answer is, the same number of drinks in the same amount of time will produce the same results. You know the results:

Speaking into the ceramic microphone.
Calling train arrivals such as, “Poughkeepsie,” and “Pittsburg.”
Walking around with a headache so big you wish for bolt of lightning to take you out.
Hands shaking so bad people think you’ve got at least three of each.

Well, since we never learn, here is a little Haiku to help you through the weekend.

Find the light today,

Yesterday is not too clear. . .

Tomorrow is life.

Have a great weekend.

Time is as Time Does – A Haiku

November 8, 2013November 3, 2013 ~ John W. Howell ~ 17 Comments

Friday has arrived (Ta Da) and it has been a very good week. The household managed to survive the Fall Back to standard time. We now get a lot of things done between six and seven when we used to lie around in the bed SLEEPING. The reason for this situation is, our two dogs cannot get used to the time change. I think the real issue is we never taught them how to tell time. They use little inner clues like; hungry, potty, and sunrise to let them know when it is time to alert their humans that the sleep cycle is over and it is now time to hunt.

Our boxer is used to placing her nose right under the sleeping human’s nose to detect life. (Or not) Once life is detected, the emotional glad-you-are-still-able-to-provide-kibble-and-a-walk lick is placed starting from the chin and ending at the forehead. No amount of holding breath or other forms of faking it works. When the lick is applied, the human is expected to throw back the covers and exit the sleep module. Failure to do so is challenged by a quick, but piercing bark followed by what can best be described as a butt sit. This is where all sixty pounds of the boxer is concentrated in her butt which she promptly finds a spot to perch on you. If this fails to produce the results, she then goes to the Silky Terrier to generate a response which produces a round of barking that only the dead could sleep through.

Instead of this process beginning at six-thirty it now begins at five-thirty and there is no sign that it will ever change until we go back to Daylight Savings Time again.

Here is a little Haiku in honor of Friday and Central Standard Time.

The alarm wakes some,

Dogs disturb the sleep…

Friday please have clouds.

Margarita is as Margarita Does

October 18, 2013October 14, 2013 ~ John W. Howell ~ 37 Comments

Friday has finally arrived. If you are like me it is a welcome sight for sore everything. Even though I don’t have a traditional workweek, I still like to kick back and celebrate its close. In fact, someone asked me my idea of a good Friday. I said, “A good Friday is where I write my ass off, reward myself with a Margarita and then try to explain to my wife what I had done all day.” I wrote a little Haiku to honor that Margarita and the Friday celebration. Hope you enjoy and have a great weekend.

My Margarita,

Celebrate one for Friday. . .

Two; hurts tomorrow.