Living (and Losing) in the Crazy Bohemian Life

Once again, it has been a long while since I've been on the blog to update you all on this crazy, bohemian life of mine. But I had to get back here; I had to get back to all my online work...
In the past few weeks I have received several emails, youtube messages, etc. from people all over the world who want to talk with me about my online writing, living the bohemian life, & how they can embrace a lifestyle & attitude like mine as their own. It's made me realize again just how important my online work is to me... I want to help people. I want to show that being a hippie, bohemian, free-spirit can be a positive thing. I want to spread peace & love to the world. And, on the selfish end, I want people to know me, see me, share in my love of art & music & creativity & innovation, & truly know me. Even if I am a stranger, I want the world to know my heart.

So here I am...

Why have I been away so long? Well, to be honest, I have let the demands of the "real world" take control of my life. Working two "real" jobs in addition to my writing & music, working 17-20 hours some days, & just basically working, working, working. This is not entirely a bad thing, as I have been building a brighter future financially, but it is a bad thing in the sense that I have not had as much time for my creative endeavors. But that is about to change, because if I keep my creative side restricted for too long I'll self-destruct in some way. I know this about myself.

So I am going to limit how much I work at my "real" jobs & focus more time on the following:

1. Finishing my Sci-Fi novel, "Alpha 7"
2. Finishing & publishing my second poetry book, "The Chaos that is Living"
3. Recording some music!!!
4. Writing more lists for List My Five
5. Updating the blogs
6. Writing more lenses on Squidoo
7. Helping others
8. Creating art

Not that I don't get satisfaction from my "real" jobs. They're good jobs. The first is as a line server at Qdoba. It's pretty awesome. I get to work with the public (which I love), I get to work with food (which I also love), & I get to work with some amazing people (who I definitely love.) The second is as a nanny. I work with two sweet little ones; teaching, playing, disciplining, inspiring, comforting... it is a true joy to me.  (I also still model, teach, & do extra work for movies & tv shows, just not as regularly.)

But "real" jobs cause me problems because I am not in full control of my destiny in a "real" job. How I do, how much I make, how far I advance, how I'm treated, & how much I am allowed to rock the boat are all determined by other people; higher ups, corporate big wigs, people in the right cliques... it frustrates me to no end. I NEED FREEDOM!

Maybe someday I will have all the freedom I need & I won't have to work "real" jobs anymore. That's the dream anyway...

 Before I go, I do want to share some sad news with you.

My sweet parakeet, Gumby, died recently. It was very sudden - he showed no signs of injury or illness.  He simply died, rather surprisingly, when I was gone at one of my jobs one day.

Gumby was a good bird. He  liked to sing with people, talk to birds outside, play birdie basketball & bowling, look at himself in mirrors, & fall asleep in shoes. He didn't bite, didn't scratch, & only made a fuss if you took him away from something he was enjoying. His favorite foods were millet, fresh lettuce, & honey treats. I called him my Gumby Goo & I loved him very much. I miss him a lot. So does Will. I think even the cats miss him. Ava & Zaneeta used to sit & watch Gumby, hang out with him, & occasionally get jealous of him if I paid him too much attention to him in front of them.  But they never hurt him; they never even tried to. And now, they look up at where his cage once sat with a strange cat version of sadness, disappointment, & confusion in their eyes... Sad.

We gave Gumby a funeral service of sorts out at my mom & dad's house & buried him next to my sweet Mya kitty & our doggies from when I was growing up, so at least we had some closure, & at least Gumby Goo has some great company.

But it is still so strange to be in our house & not hear Gumby's sweet songs drifting through the rooms...

I will be back soon. Very soon.
Peace & Love,
Meagan

Oh Life... oh ever changing life...

This has been, and continues to be, a time of interesting highs and lows for the Modern Bohemian.

We'll start with the lows...

I've been sick, and it worries me. (See earlier post)
A friend's father just died
I don't have enough money to pay my rent
I can't seem to be able to get even a part time job out in the "real world" (only online)
and the State wants to cut back on and/or take away my unemployment benefits... which I've received for less than a month.
Etc. etc. etc.
Boo.

But then there are the high notes!  The happy points!  The exciting moments!  Including:
Getting hired to be the Lansing Electronic Music Examiner on Examiner.com.  (Check out my first article with them here: "Macs Bar supports electronic music in Lansing")
Getting my article, The Top Five Zoos in Michigan, featured on the front page of List My 5.
Getting more followers on Twitter
Getting approved as an affiliate for  and  and
and seeing Wilhuff succeed in the online, social networking world.

But where's the in between?  I can't go through life like I'm on a rollercoaster; up and down, up and down!  Sometimes I need some in between.
The ideal ratio would be 70% good things (the highs), 10% bad things (the lows... you know, so that I can still appreciate the highs), and 20% in between (in between.  Neither bad, nor good, just a normal, smooth sailing kind of boring regularity that sometimes help to keep a person sane.)

For now, I probably just have to deal with the rollercoaster ride.  Maybe eventually the good things (like, my writing) can help with the bad things (like... my lack of money), but until then,  I just have to keep trying my best and plugging away and working hard to survive and keep hope alive...

Peace and Love,
Meagan

Hippies, Bohemians, and Free-Spirits... and LM5

I love List My 5 because it allows me to have tons and tons of creativity, and when the creativity is flowing, I start thinking of all my hippie/bohemian/free-spirit brothers and sisters around the world, and when I start thinking about all them I sometimes get inspired to write about them! So yeah... this is the result of that:

The Top Five Places for Hippies Bohemians and Free Spirits Online

The Top Five Hippie and Bohemian Stores in Michigan

The Top Five Books for Hippies Bohemians and Free Spirits

The Top Five Places for Hippies and Bohemians in Grand Rapids Michigan

Peace and Love

~*~*~*~MEAGAN~*~*~*~

Tarot and The Modern Bohemian

Hi Meagan! Here is your Daily Tarot Card for Monday, July 26 "The Fool card affirms that my alter ego today is aQuantam Leaper with a hero's heart. My superpower is liberated by free will and trust, which lead me to explore simple speculations for their own sake. I can move beyond the fear factor. I don't know where I'm going, and I don't care where I've been. I only know that, as the hero of my own story, it's for me to find out. For, like Alice, I'm on the verge of stepping into a rabbit hole; unless I stop short and play it safe, I'll know soon enough where following my own feet has landed me on this curious venture. The blissful frailty of unwritten conclusions and unguarded access sweetens the desire. So despite familiar warnings, irresistible promise draws my eyes wide open and away from domestic comfort zones, with only certain inquiry, hope and faith to recommend my course. I'll never know until I try."

This makes so much sense to me.  This is my life right now. haha


By the way, I will be posting a little recap of the time we have been apart to get you all up to date, and then hopefully I will be able to post regularly again.  It's been a little crazy, and internet and computer availability have been a problem for awhile, but I will not be held back.  I must be heard! haha  Well... I'd like to be anyway. :)


I hope everyone is doing well.  I miss my online community!
I'll be back soon. :)


Peace and Love,
Meagan

PonchoMeg: The Modern Bohemian Gives You Some Stuff to Check out on a Friday Afternoon

I love exploring the internet and all it has to offer. So here, on this chilly Friday afternoon, I am sitting inside, cozy and warm after some early morning Christmas shopping, sharing some of the fun things I have been checkin' out online.

Listen 2 The Bass

I LOVED this song on Make Me a Supermodel Season 2 and I just can't get enough of it. It is such a sick jam!!!

Surprised Kitty

This video makes me giggle so much! And I literally mean giggle, like a three year old being tickled. It's pretty cute, that's all I'm saying.

Power Treasures

If you believe in the powers of crystals, check out this site. I don't know how I feel about it, but I always like to learn more about things.

MyGreenMoon

Another new site for me. It belongs to an ehow member, so I thought I would check it out. It seems really interesting and right up my alley. :) I will have to look it over a little more and see what I think.

Daily Good

Friend and fellow blogger Terria Fleming puts out this amazing site that offers up ways for us to do good for the world everyday. I love it!

ENJOY!!

Peace and Love,

Meagan

PonchoMeg: The Modern Bohemian

Friday Oh Friday and Project Runway

So I don't work on Fridays. This is a good thing for sure. Last night I was so tired after work, that as soon as "Project Runway" was over, I was out! I am still tired today! Speaking of "Project Runway"... let me say, I am disappointed with the outcome. I wanted Carol Hannah to win so badly, and honestly, hers was the only collection where I liked every single piece. It seems as though others agree as well. Just check out this article: Irina Wins Project Runway, But Everyone is Talking About Carol Hannah

And even though Carol Hannah didn't win, she is still my favorite. And she's on Etsy! Check it out! Carol Hannah on Etsy

In addition to watching the disappointing "Project Runway" and falling asleep, I also worked yesterday and found out I sold some jewelry! This is always a good thing.

I love making jewelry! I would like to do some more things for my Esty store though (for the holiday season) I thought about doing some centerpieces, Christmas decorations, and scarves. But then the hard part comes in... how will I buy my supplies?

My gluten-free diet is eating up all my money... it's frustrating. But on the plus side, I am pretty sure that I have lost weight (we don't have a scale here, so who's to say? But it seems like it!) My clothes are fitting better so I can't complain. Not that weight loss is the main goal of the gluten free diet, but it's definitely a good added bonus!

Well, I should probably go for now... I have been getting distracted looking at stuff online while I was writing this! haha Some of the things that grabbed my attention:

Project Rungay with Tom and Lorenzo

Twisted Stitches

Hippie Chick Bakery

Carol Hannah's Etsy

And pictures of Carol Hannah and/or Logan. haha

Enjoy.

Peace and Love,

Meagan

Making Money Online

Modern Bohemians are not really known for having loads of money (unless they come from a rich family) but even otherwise unemployed Bohemians like me or even people with real jobs can make extra money online. I've been working on it for awhile now, and feel like I have really started to get the hang of it all. Only time will tell...

Things I Like

So I have had a day filled with stuff I like. And it's been great. Here's the rundown:

Morning: I spent the morning writing, reading, and doing other important work online. Yes work. I like doing my online adventures for money making much more than a typical 9-5, because, let's face it... I'm not a 9-5 kind of girl. I'm more of a 10:00 AM to 3:00 AM kind of girl!

So what do I do online that's so great? Well, I update my blog. And I love my little blog. It's very meaningful to me... even if no one reads it. (Don't get me wrong... I'm a little vain... I want LOTS of people to read it, but I think you know what I mean)

I also read other people's blogs, articles, etc. and see what catches my eye and my limited attention span.

I write for ehow. I tell you what... that site is awesome!! It may seem like a shameless plug, but it's really not. I love that site. I have met so many nice people on there, I've learned a lot from reading my friends' articles, and I get to make money writing and teaching others things that I know. So cool. If you haven't checked out ehow yet, please do. (NOTE: As of the most recent blog updates in 2016, I no longer write for eHow.)

What else? Well, I make the rounds... Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, Stumbleupon, My bank account, and Paypal. I also check my other pages and add to them. (Squidoo, Bukisa, etc.)

Finally, I work on Etsy.com selling arts and crafts. (NOTE: I no longer sell on Etsy.)

Afternoon: Got a hot and ready pizza for my boyfriend and while I was out, got a yummy raspberry iced tea for myself (Arizona, if you were wondering). Man, I love tea. All kinds of tea. My favorites have to be green tea with citrus, raspberry iced tea, and white tea with peach. MMMMmmmm.....

Also while I was out, I stopped at a store called Thrifty Treasures. (AKA: A dangerous place for me to be because I want to buy everything!)

I got a cute picture with a very classic frame that looks like it would hang in a Grandmother's house (which is why I like it so much!). I also got some mini photo albums (4) and a cute leaf shaped tea-lite candle holder. All for under $5.00. Awesome.

Late Afternoon/Early Evening: I got to snuggle with the bf before he went off to do some work, listened to music, and am now cuddled up with my cat Ava and back on the compy.

What does tonight hold? Only good things I'm sure. We've got some friends coming to hang out, and that's always fun.

So... I may not have a "real" job or a whole of money or anything, but I have a lot of things to be thankful for.

It's nice to be able to look at the world and see the good, even in the midst of hard times. Yay for being a Modern Bohemian!