Tuesday, March 9, 2010

Stop the Violins

I saw this as a bumper sticker on a car. It was awesomesauce

And so today, I vow to stop the violins. No one cares that I have to do my dishes, clean my three toilets or walk through snow to my car. *whine, whine, whine* No one cares that my legs are throbbing because I've recently heaved myself off the couch and onto the treadmill. *whine, whine, whine*

I will not whine about what I cannot change -- or what I can for that matter. Not today.

I will not give in to those pesky violins!

Who's with me? *insert battle cry*

Today, toss all your violin-worthy whines in the comments. And then walk away. I'll shoulder the load.

Walk. Away.

69 comments:

Jonathon Arntson said...

Aye, aye! Although I could never cease songs with a violin, especially Bend to Squares, I listen to that song everyday.

Candyland said...

My house is a mess, my hair needs washed, I don't know I wiped my daughter's butt good enough, I scratched my glasses and it hurts to look at the computer, but I have to look...

Nothing too dramatic. Yet. Give me about an hour and I'll have more, I'm sure.

Portia said...

Too many house guests, too much house work, kids have been sick in alternative shifts for a month, and my freelance gigs have been taking advantage of my kinder ways.

Whew, thanks! I feel better. Now I'd better get back to writing my synopsis :-)

Unknown said...

I will not whine that I'm trying to function on two hours of sleep. I'll just suck it up and not complain that I was called back to work from 11pm to 4am--after working from 6am to 3pm already. Sleep? Who needs it? Not me! ;-:

lotusgirl said...

Whine. My tummy hurts. Sniffle. Cough.

kah said...

No violins. I promise. But what about harmonicas? Are those allowed?

Georgiana Daniels said...

I love it! Today, I needed this exact thought.

j.m. neeb said...

I'm echoing the *battle cry*, Elana! We don't need no stinkin' violins!!

Unknown said...

I'm with you. No more whining, no more feeling sorry for one-self. Now, on with conquering the world!

Liza said...

LOVE that bumper sticker! Thank you for sharing!

Natalie said...

Nausea. Why can't it just leave me alone.

Amie Borst said...

so does bucking the system count as whining? if so, i did that yesterday on my blog. and i feel MUCH better now.

Ms. X said...

That's great! If only more people would do this...oops! Am I whining? :)

Melanie Hooyenga said...

Good for you!

I try my best to avoid complaining "publicly" for two reasons. First, there's always someone who has it worse off and then I look petty, and second, I HATE all the "it'll be okay", "things will get better", "this too shall pass" BS that people feel obligated to say in response.

I just complain in emails. ;)

Janet Johnson said...

Great bumper sticker. Great advice. I need to learn to enjoy the cheese without the whine.

Unknown said...

Nice. I'm with you! *holding up sign in between coughs* lol!

Karen Lange said...

Well said! I think this goes along with taking responsibility for our lives, actions and so on. Too much lack of adult like behavior floating around.

Thanks for sharing this. Off to proceed with my whine-less day...

VR Barkowski said...

Huzzah! I'm with you Elana! My whine: I'm querying. Need I say more?

Stina said...

Darn it! That means I'm not allowed to whine about having to clean 3 toilets, either. ;)

Christine Fonseca said...

Works for me...whine free day!

Anonymous said...

Okay, my whine (get ready): I fear that no matter how much I polish my manuscript, no agent will EVER like it and I'll be relegated to "sans agent-land" forever.

Ah. I feel ten pounds lighter. Thanks, Elana! :)

Now, back to editing/revising. Gonna make this baby S-H-I-N-E!

MG Higgins said...

I'm tooooo busy! I need ten more hours in every day!

Jill Kemerer said...

I hear you! I'm even on my own nerves. Come on, something good must be happening in my life, right? :)

I just finished revising a contest entry, and my heroine was a major whine-o. Toned her WAY down!

Whining is fun, though, isn't it. Sigh...

Jessica Nelson said...

Woohoo! I'm with you! But I do like to hear you whine. Keeps me in line since I'm way less busier than you, so when I hear how busy you are, it reminds me not to whine about my own busyness.
:-)

Kay said...

oh, how nice of you to allow the rant page here; however, I wouldn't/couldn't be so cruel :)

Courtney Barr - The Southern Princess said...

Nope cannot whine. Not now. You have definitely made me smile today!

I have a huge to do list,but I am looking forward to it! Today is Tuesday and I will not whine. ;o)

Visit My Kingdom Anytime

Shari said...

First, a moment of silent whining. Second, *large battle cry and lots of here here's* *continuous talking amongst ourselves*

Steena Holmes said...

my daughter is sick, I don't get sick days at work, so I have to get her fever down and take her to a friend's house so I can go into work and then work late to cover the hours I missed .....

dang, I don't hear those violins anymore ....

Tiffany Neal said...

Done deal...

Krista said...

My back hurts and I can't go to Storymakers. I tell my kids, "Oh, somebody call the whaaaambulance."

Danyelle L. said...

'Tis why I gave up the violin for the harp. :p

Tamika: said...

You are too kind!

My house is a wreck, there isn't enough time to clean it and write! I coook dinner everynight and spend ample time with kids and still something important doesn't get down.

There. I'm ripping the strings, and walking away.

Jennifer @ Fruit of My Hands said...

Yes, please!

Have you seen that commercial with the violin guy? Ha ha ha.

Jen said...

Elana, this is fabulous! I have a mind to take a picture of a violin and put a buster sign over it and hang it over my writing table. Ha!

Have a wonderful day!
Jen

Susan R. Mills said...

I won't whine about the fact that I have to take my daughter to the ortho for the third time in five days to get the same problem fixed. Can't they get it right? Okay, I'm done, and I'm walking away. Have a great day!

Lisa Nowak said...

I don't have anything in particular to whine about at the moment, so I'll save this thought for when I do. Which will probably be about five minutes from now. :)

Nichole Giles said...

Besides, who likes carrying around a violin anyway?

Now, when the snow starts to fall today, I will not whine either. =)

Nichole

Lydia Kang said...

You know, it might have also been a play on "Stop the Violince". I agree with both statements. My whine? Not enough time to do EVERYTHING!

Tere Kirkland said...

I'm worried I'll never be able to make my new heroine likable enough.

Funny, she's a violin player, too...

Coincidence? ;)

L. Diane Wolfe said...

My new book comes out in one week and I am already exhausted from promotions and such.
There's my whine!

Michelle D. Argyle said...

Nice, Elana. I'm really angry with judgmental people at church right now. I would like to hit them and then go whine about it. But I won't do that. So I'll just whine about it.

Eric said...

Great post Elana. And oh so true.

Looking down your comments though, I don't know how you have the time to read through them all. You need to be wearing the blue and red suit with the cape and the big S.

Kimberly Vanderhorst said...

Oh how I needed this today! Amen!

Kayeleen Hamblin said...

I had my whine yesterday. Today, the house is clean, the laundry is done, the snow is falling, and I have big goals for editing. I can do this! Wahoo!

Melissa Hurst said...

Okay, here's my whine - I'm tired of my youngest not sleeping through the night. She's almost 20 months old and has not figured out that concept and I'm freaking tired all of the time. I got maybe four hours of sleep last night and I can't think straight.

Whew, I do feel better, even though I'm still sleepy:) No more whining now!

Shannon O'Donnell said...

I love it! I think I'll take up the banner and swallow my whining today, too. One less load for you to carry. :-)

Mel Chesley said...

I'm with you! I need to stop the violins in my own posts. :D
So, here's my whine... we have blizzard conditions, around 4 to 4 1/2 feet of snow and I can't drive the 11 miles into town so I'm stuck at home... again. I'm trying not to go stir crazy so I may have to give in and clean my house.
Okay, I'm done. XD

Mary E Campbell said...

I don't usually whine, but my kids on the other hand... How do I get their shrill little violins to stop. Now I'm whining. I'll let it go and move on.

Carolyn V. said...

Can I whine about my sinus infection? Because it's ten times worse than my cold last week.

I'm off to write! "Brain inspiration!" That's my...my battle cry. "Spoon" was already taken. =)

Laura Pauling said...

I'm walking away. Right now. Here I go. Not even looking back over my shoulder. Nope. Not even a glance.

Rebecca Knight said...

Ha! I love this :). I will toss my violins onto the bonfire with you guys!

Also, kudos on braving the treadmill!

* said...

{{Whine}} I woke up this morning to 4 whining kids and a broken mouse. Now using a new mouse that feels more like walking around my computer on stilts. Yipes!

PS: I need one of those bumper stickers...now would be good.

Dawn Embers said...

Oh oh... I do have one. My grandma is going to be here, visiting since she moved to arkansas. I love her and all but she won't have a car. I'm trying to write 50k this month in my novel but will have to stop to drive her around while she's here. *whines*

Okay. I'm done. Thanks.

No Longer Blogging said...

Oh boy...are you sure you want to hear? I haven't left the house in 12 days because I had knee surgery. I have a massive bruise on my left forearm that hurts like crazy. I feel fat and disgusting and stuck. My husband is whining about not knowing how to work a computer and he won't bring me home any ice cream!

Shall I go on? Nope! Time to crutch over to the other bedroom, flip on HGTV and watch Design Star!!

Unknown said...

Yeah! I'm in -- no boo-hoo-ing today. Accentuate the positive!

Karen Baldwin said...

Whine,whine. . .wine! Ah, all better.

Kathryn Hupp-Harris said...

I will not cry about ...uh, uh...I can't think of anything to cry about.

Wow. It must be a good day. :-)

I hope you have a good one, too, Elana!

Unknown said...

I so needed to see this today. I'm feeling particularly whiney.
No more violins. :)

KA said...

I get enough whining around here as it is, so I don't think I'll play. Oh, wait. Too late already.

Bish Denham said...

EVERYTHING needs dusting! But it's so beautiful outside...

Olivia Carter said...

Oh man, I've felt like whining for the last week 1/2 straight.

I got my hair done last Saturday (so a week 1/2 ago) and I hate it. I'm getting it fixed today so I'm thinking I'll be off whiny mode by tonight.

Though I still have lots of dishes, laundry, vacuuming, scrubbing etc that I put off because I was having a rough week.

All because of hair? I'm such a wimp.

That's it. Done. No more whining. Thanks for the reminder!

Kimberly Franklin said...

Aww... but I love whining. Gosh!

Jemi Fraser said...

But, if everyone stops whining, won't we all need some therapy :)

Anonymous said...

Oh, I'm all for that. And can you tell I'm trying to do the same? I haven't posted in forever!

Unknown said...

oh man. that means half my posts will have to go.
shit.
SB




not too serious i hope

??? said...

My hair is a wreck, but I'm reluctant to style it because my dandruff is so bad.

I have absolutely no energy, and I sleep until noon every day. I never get anything done! I procrastinate constantly!

My novel is still not finished.

All my art sucks compared to the people I idolize.

I'm not thin and pretty enough.

I push people away. I can't drive worth a damn, my fingers are fat-

BAWWWWWWWWWW.

...Okay, I'm better now. I hope. 8D

Little Ms J said...

I think I kind of left the violins over at LiLa's Tell The Truth Tuesday, but I do love this. It helps you remember to stop being such a whiner and step up, enjoy your life, blah blah blah.

Love it!

ali cross said...

Hear, hear! Although, I've never heard you whine, so I'm kinda going "what?"

But Huzzah! I'm with ya ;)

Sharon K. Mayhew said...

I hate that cheese has so many calories. I love cheese and crackers, but I hate the excessive calories.

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