SILVER LINING #10
<< #9
Good day, Cloudheads! I hope this greeting finds you with bright skies above. Recently, I've been on the receiving end of a whale downvote lashing. I sincerely hope that you didn't suffer the same fate. It's not like I've been making tons of money anyway. I get that it's an initiative to spread the wealth around, but since I'm not part of where the wealth has been spread in the first place, I'm not quite sure why I became a target of that. All of the proceeds for A Day in the Clouds and SILVER LINING go directly to my differently abled nephew and to charities involving mental health. If people want to lessen the money that goes towards helping other people live a better life, then that's on them. Fortunately, I've already written this post before the flagging. I had wanted to protest by putting up a blank post, but I owe it to however small readership I have to maintain the quality of my posts. Anyway, enough of that, I'm just grateful however measly amount Chapter 10 earned and, of course, the continued support of my readers. You guys are the best, I hope you know that. With that in mind, I'm going to keep this installment short.
I don't know if you've been noticing, but the different shades of the sky in the cover photos for SILVER LINING have been mapped not only to the time of day, but to Ledd's current state as well. As you might've noticed in the previous installment, the background traced the ground for the first time. It's because, well, Ledd's feeling a bit down health-wise as well. I spent a lot of time picking the images I put here, giving special emphasis to the amount of clouds, etc, so I hope you'd think twice the next time you look at the cover photo :D
This chapter dealt with the real fallout from his capture. While his body temperature was at a high, Ledd had missed as tensions were at a fever pitch. He had awoken just in time to witness that everything has already boiled over. (See what I did there?) I've been really having a blast telling stories without writing them. I find it fascinating that a lot can be said by not even putting them into words. So much so that I'm considering writing a story series on Steemit without any content.
It's so nice returning to a state of innocence once in a while. Everything looks so wonderful, and mundane objects turn into fascinating devices. If you're caught up with the hustle and bustle of your everyday grind, I advise you to take even 5 minutes to clear your mind of everything. Not in a meditative way (though that works as well), but in a way where you're wiping your whole slate clean. View computer monitors as windows to different dimensions, electric fans as a vent that bursts strong gusts of wind. For Ledd, I had him go up against a digital thermometer.
Image Source
When I was a kid, I remember my mother having such a tough time measuring my body temperature. For some reason, I just couldn't sit still. I asked her about it and she recounted that I kept expanding my arm, dislodging the thermometer from my armpit. She's a OB-GYN who has years of experience in measuring patients' body temperatures, so I guess it's just a formality. The other obstacle that she encountered was when it was time for her to administer medicine. I kept coughing up the huge pills and I kept spitting out the syrup. There were tons of times when she had to deliver the medicine as a suppository. After that brief stroll down memory lane, she bade me good luck for when I eventually have a child of my own, and wished that my kid won't take after me.
This chapter became a real turning point for little Ledd. Instead of attempting another escape, he's now determined to destroy the giant from the inside. Initially, I had wanted to write this as the ninth chapter, but having him experience the fever dream slowly became a necessity. I want to give him new motivations for every third of the novel. Think of it as different story arcs or acts in a play. It's hard inserting isolating arcs in a serialization, so I'm just making do with the pieces I have.
What were your experiences when you're recovering from a disease when you were a child? How do you take care of your own child when he/she has an ailment? Share your thoughts below in the comments section. I answer each and every comment, so don't be shy!
Thanks for reading! Follow me, @jedau, if you want to live.
Leave this post a feedback, and I'll be sure to return the favor!
Haha! When I was about 10, or maybe a little younger, my parents wanted to give me some worming medicine. I fought like a wild thing and would not take it. Later that day we went to visit my aunt and cousins, and oddly, that was the day she was going to dose all of them for worms. But she had a different approach - there was a bar of chocolate for each of us after we took the medicine. I was first in the queue! It was only many years later that I realised that of course that was all set up for me, and everybody else was dosed unnecessarily.
Ohhh! I went through that experience as well. Definitely not a fun one. Here it's called pagpurga (or "to purge"), and I've seen quite a range of reactions, since my aunt's a Pediatrician. It's funny how you were bribed with chocolate and now you're a Paleo person :D Definitely a good precaution to have your cousins dosed as well. Thanks for sharing that story, my friend! :D
The story really shows my addiction to chocolate when I was young. Even as a Paleo person, I still like a bit of chocolate, though now very dark only!
Ha! Yesss, the exception chocolate. In my youth, I really abhorred the darker variety, but I'm quite enjoying it these past years. It's great that you managed to kick that addiction and do a whole 180 :D
That's a very generous interpretation of what I said, lol!
Haha! I'm glad to have done it some justice :D
Please don't stop writing on here. Like dreemit said, you were not targeted at all.
These days I rarely fall sick so it's kinda hard for me to recollect how I recover in times past. All I know is that you begin to appreciate all the things you previously took for granted when you were healthy.
It's nice putting in the work into the cover images. I hadn't really noticed before now. The little things matter and your commitment to this cause will surely pay off.
Well done bro!
Thank you, brother! Your encouraging words mean a lot :D I'm glad you noticed the detail I put into my work. That's one of the reasons I feel bad about the lack of interaction. I really put a lot effort and passion into everything I do, and it's hard to see people who write posts for less than a minute and get hundred more upvotes. But, that's alright, I've stopped comparing a long time ago and I'm just focusing on my own work.
Supporters like you are what keep me going, so I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate you continued feedback :D
Hey @fisteganos, I just posted something today related to A Day In The Clouds, please try and check it out, I'm sure you can definitely appreciate it. https://steemit.com/originalmusic/@verbal-d/m-m-m-29-sliver-s-edge-of-ledd-s-silver-lining-collaborative-art-journey-with-everlove-original-beat
I thought I would share this with everyone who follows the series along with the Silver Lining.
I checked it out. Really cool! Well done bro.
Hey thank you very much bro, I do appreciate you lending your ears for this one!
My single vote right now on anything that's from 0$ to about 10cents is worth two cents, and it increases exponentially after that, for instance when I voted on Tim cliffe's post which was a few dollars at the time it added eight cents, when I voted on another post that was about twelve dollars it added seventeen cents! So while getting flagged by whales definitely didn't feel nice the first couple of days--and you were not targeted sweetheart, every single person who received a whale upvote received downvotes to counteract it. The first couple days, as I said, didn't feel good, especially since everyone else's votes had yet to increase so all it did was take our payouts down to practically nothing. But now we the little people have the potential to give nice payouts to the posts and people we support. Of course that does depend on the little people taking that initiative and using it.
I think you did an excellent job with the entire scene, I know I already told you that on the chapter, but I wanted to reiterate. i love the way you just put that, to wipe our slates clean, to view the world through the eyes of a child without all of the preconceived notions we have about things. I have made a practice of doing this at least once a month, particularly in relation to the outdoors. Such as a snowfall, or flowers in spring, but I love how you also brought in technology, i've never really thought about looking at a computer that way, but that's awesome!
As usual, your silver linings are amazing follow ups to your brilliant story! Love everything about this project my friend, your beautiful writing as well as your generosity towards your family!!
Thank you for the kind words and continued support, my friend! You're always a huge source of encouragement :D Too often, we're all caught up in the hustle and bustle of our daily grind. We tend to take a lot of things for granted, chalking them off as trivial or mundane. But, that wasn't always the case. If we can't change the world around us, then what we can do is change how we view the world. Bringing back the wonder in everyday things would surely change the way we interact with them. This has been a subtle advocacy of the whole series, and I'm glad that you spotted it from the very beginning :D
I made your payout go up a teensy bit!
Well that was sucky >_< wish they'd flagged me instead of you if they were "taxing" people, I'm only trying to switch up my lifestyle after all (trying to make it so my partner can stay home and do all the home stuff coz he's better at it) and personal gain is selfish and I should be very ashamed of myself (that's a long running joke that probably needs esxplanation XD).
I have been looking at the cover pics but didn't pick up that they were mood reflecting, just thought it had something to do with the time :)
We're "not allowed" to do be fascinated my things, though my kids do manage to do a good job getting other people fascinated by things when a lot of their age mates are trying to tease them because they're "too cool/grown up" XD
I feel so sorry for Ledd and his parents, nobody gets it! XD
Even if your vote doesn't move the needle, it matters very little to me because your comments and continued support are what I cherish more :D No amount of monetary compensation could ever take the place of your enthusiastic interaction. Of which, I am extremely grateful for!
You don't have to be ashamed of your motivations. Everyone has their own agenda, and it's perfectly fine :)
Now, you can go back and look at the other cover photos when you find the time :) I really enjoy peppering in these meta references in my work. I have tons that I've planted. That's why I decided to do SILVER LINING to weed out a couple.
Nice of your kids to be progressive! I think it can all be traced back to their upbringing, so in essence I'm commending you for a job well done in parenting them :D
I haven't spent a lot of time at Steemit (compared to usual) over these last two weeks, but wanted to let you know your writings are top of my list to read. I've been spending more time practicing my writing, experimenting, and looking for avenues of readership. It's all part of the writing game.
The whale experiment was my initial reason to back off. Although I could see the reason behind it, I noticed, initially, a lot of undeserving people getting hit with flags. It seems to be balancing out now, so I will see how things progress.
Feedback and views are more important to me than reward, but I wont lie, the reward does play some part in how this place operates. It's both a plus and a negative. Same can be said for curation rewards, of which I have been mostly positive about in the past. They too have a negative side. But Steemit has great potential, so hopefully things progress well from here.
Anyway, just wanted to touch base, let you know I am still reading (and not just voting for some rewards, lol).
Hey, mate! Yeah, I missed you on here. I appreciate you taking the time to leave a note. No worries though, you do you. It's awesome that you're really taking the time to improve your craft. I do agree with everything you said. As a fan of the long game as well, I'm glad that you're very meticulous when it comes to your strategy.
Everything would be waiting for you when you finally decide to return. I truly appreciate your continued support, brother! :D
Hey @naquoya, I just posted something today related to A Day In The Clouds, please try and check it out, I'm sure you can definitely appreciate it. https://steemit.com/originalmusic/@verbal-d/m-m-m-29-sliver-s-edge-of-ledd-s-silver-lining-collaborative-art-journey-with-everlove-original-beat
I thought I would share this with everyone who follows the series along with the Silver Lining.
Silver Lining #1 gave me a lot of insightful information and background views of the process and how you have approached the story. I definitely appreciate your explanations and reasons why you have chosen first person and the fact that you haven't written in first person before, although seemingly limiting as you state (though you have reluctantly mellowed out), I believe you have written the perspective of Ledd's dream state in the first chapter extremely well. With dreams, it's hard pressed to ruin or mess up the description of a dream because those are pretty much without limitations as far as imagination allows. I didn't realize the 24 hour reference of your 24 chaptered novel. That's great, you're almost at the halfway point. At least when I reach Chapter 10, I'll be deeply invested into the storyline by then. I wish you more success for these upcoming posts as Steemit seems to be increasing in value and making a turn around for the best. My most recent up votes have been giving 3-4 cents which is pretty cool.
Aww thanks so much for the kind words, my bro :') I've been very meticulous in terms of how I approach the story, so I appreciate the compliments. SILVER LINING started out as an outlet at first, but then it transformed into something more. One might argue that I've had more interaction here than in the main story. I tend to overexplain things, so if I didn't create a separate post, the explanations would consume 50% of the chapters, potentially turning away readers. Appreciate you, brother!
You're welcome bro, I also tend to over explain for clarity, transparency and clarifications. It's appreciated on both ends even if it it is lengthy or long winded. Nothing wrong with covering all areas briefly or intricately.
Apparently, I discovered that it isn't always the case, that's why I divided the explanation into a separate post. It's great that it's being received well though. I have you novel in queue now. I'll try to get through a couple of chapters in a bit.
That's great to hear bro. I have a massive amount of paperwork to do plus I'm heading to the Hip Hop studio today, and I still need to post for today. Today is going to be pretty hectic, but when the dust settles. Chapter 2 of Day In The Clouds will I explore. Looking forward to it, and I'm glad you made Silver Lining. It's a great extension, I wish I would have done that for my novel. It's a great idea to see the insight and overview of your thoughts.
You could always do something similar in your next ones :D I'm already at Chapter 3. Will leave my thoughts in your Table of Contents post.
" I spent a lot of time picking the images I put here, giving special emphasis to the amount of clouds, etc, so I hope you'd think twice the next time you look at the cover photo :D"
Oh I truly didn't notice that, thank you for pointing that out, and showing the ground because he is feeling down, defeated and weakened is a great technique! I'll be more focused and aware of the cover photo from now on.
"What were your experiences when you're recovering from a disease when you were a child? How do you take care of your own child when he/she has an ailment?"
My Grandma and Aunts are all well versed in taking care of sick kids so I can say I was fairly comfortable and well catered to, if not "spoiled" during these times of malady and incapacitation. Flus truly are a wretched thing to experience though.
When Harmony or Marcello is sick, my heart breaks and feels a deep pain. I and my wife look up the symptoms, take them to the doctor, get them checked, but if it's too late, we just stay by their side, hydrate them, keep them cool on their foreheads, warm around their bodies, get them fresh air, lots of fluids, encourage deep sleep, massaging and cuddling, and lots of love and prayer.
Oh, man, I've heard this quite a bit. Makes me think that I should've included this in the intro. Oh well, I guess it's kind of a call to action to revisit the earlier installments as well.
I'm glad that you had a smooth experience growing up. Living in a house full of doctors, I guess I could say we had a similar experience. Lucky us!
I could only imagine how hard it must be for parents to look and care for their sick children. I'm really making a conscious effort of preparing myself mentally and emotionally for when I have kids of my own. I'm sure you and your wife do a pretty good job handling it. I wouldn't be surprised if Harmony and Marcello mention that "my dad and mom are all well versed in taking care of us when we were sick" when they grow up and recount their childhood :D Thanks for sharing that story, bro!