Failed those 2011 Resolutions? How to do Better in 2012.

Full disclosure: Nina Amir and I are professional colleagues via the San Francisco Writers Conference.

Get Ready, Aim, Shoot: Hit Your Bull's Eye This Year: A Spiritual Guide to using the Secular or Jewish New Year to Reset by Editor and Author Nina Amir is a down to earth conversation with the reader that invites, motivates, and inspires. Using a Judaic perspective of assessment and evaluation of one's desires, hopes and behaviors from the past with the intention of an improved performance in the future, Amir communicates with the reader via a series of exercise like questions creating a means towards success. The take away when you put this short 45 page workbook down is that meeting the goal is not what is important; the act of identifying and trying to get there is what counts.

Reading Nina Amir's "spiritual guide to using the secular or Jewish new year to reset your personal, professional and spiritual targets" was like sitting down at the kitchen table or a folksy coffee house with an old friend for a 'my life's not working, what would you suggest' heart to heart. There is no judgment, guilt, or condemnation about not succeeding, accomplishing, or abandoned attempts. Rather, explaining the essence of Jewish thought on 'sin' as a lack of attempt rather than a lack of accomplishment and that as long as one makes the effort, it is the effort that is redeeming; Nina creates an opening for the reader to take a breath and introspect in a safe place. The Jewish perspective is really just a tool box. The concepts are presented in a manner that makes them accessible regardless of faith or belief, or lack of such.

The skeptic whispered in my head "Oh, new age crap!" The curious and a little surprised, honest self noted that each section of questions was creating a sense of urgency even impatience as I wanted to see what the next page would bring, wanted to participate in the process. I wanted to put into practice what I was reading and that is the point. Participate and practice and the attempt will work its way towards success.

Get Ready, Aim, Shoot: Hit Your Bull's Eye This Year: A Spiritual Guide to using the Secular or Jewish New Year to Reset by Nina Amir is published by Pure Spirit Creations of Los Gatos, California with a list price of $11.95. ISBN 9780983535300

Anna-Marie McLemore Wins Victoria A. Hudson Emerging Writer Scholarship

The 2012 recipient of the Victoria A. Hudson Emerging Writer Scholarship at the San Francisco Writers Conference is Poet Anna-Marie McLemore of Sacramento, California. Ms. McLemore is a grand slam winner, whose fiction and non-fiction entries were also blind selected for top honors in the annual writing contest. Ms. McLemore is a 2011 Lambda Literary Fellow in fiction. Her work has appeared in numerous Cleis Press anthologies.

Runners up included fiction writer Katrina Anne Willis, of Starkville, Mississippi, and non-fiction writer Rebecca Beyer of San Francisco, California.

Ms. McLemore will receive a registration credit to attend the 2012 San Francisco Writers Conference February 16 - 20th. (Pre/post conference events and Speed Dating with Agents are not included.) All three will receive a one year Sunshine membership to the San Francisco Writers University online community.

This is the fourth year Victoria A. Hudson has sponsored a scholarship to the San Francisco Writers Conference. Initially restricted to MFA students, for the 2011 conference the competition was opened to any emerging writer. This year, due to a small number of entries, the genres were combined into one competition.

Each year, submissions include two pages of a written, unpublished work and a short essay responding to the prompt "I write because...". Finalists are selected genre neutral based upon the quality, clarity, and depth of the essay. The writing samples are used to further differentiate the quality of each writer's work. Reading is done blind with no identifying information available until after entries are ranked and finalists selected. For the 2012 scholarship there were a total of 18 submissions across the three genres.

The submission period for the 2013 Victoria A. Hudson Emerging Writer SFWC scholarship is September 1 - December 1, 2012.

After Don't Ask Don't Tell

The media has been busy covering the one year since the DADT repeal law was signed. The actual repeal didn't occur until Sept 20 of this year. So,for me, really didn't seem like much was different from December last year till September but after the 20th, yes, lots of seemingly small differences. I was able to talk about my wife with my battle buddy. I could finally explain my sudden absence from drill last January when we had a miscarriage. As my change of command is planned for FEB, the traditional flowers can be given to the spouse of ten years who when I took command was officially invisible. And when I looked for a new unit, I could finally accept a local assignment with no fear of accidental outing in the local community.

For the majority of my 31 years in the Army Reserves, I have traveled to my unit of assignment. Sometimes only an hour or a few away, the last three - five years from the top of the state to the bottom and then 2/3ds of the way across the country and now from California to Florida. Dictates of assignment and needs of the service certainly drove accepting such assignments but a fundamental reason was also that as long as I was somewhat 'out' at home, I couldn't risk accidental crossing paths with anyone from the unit. So, units far away were the only option.

That is finally no longer a consideration. I am finally free to accept local assignment and am looking forward to a lot less travel and time home with the family. Additionally, a local assignment means being part of a community that is close by. A community that I can continue to be part of and participate with even after I move on in assignment or retire. I can be a family readiness supporter after retirement. I can be available and accessible to Soldiers by living a short drive away rather than a day's worth of air travel while actively assigned. Thirty miles rather than 3000 miles is a whole lot of difference.

No More Baby

The Bug stands above my belt line, when did she grow so tall? She's been in pre-school now for a a few months and still wakes up saying, "Go pre-school today!" She says please and thank you and excuse me, not all the time, but in general and usually appropriately. She also says "I'm sorry," when she should to us as well her little people and animals say it in during make believe play. Sometimes she shares, and sometimes the jealousy monster rears its head. Cat gets pushed out of the way and Bella dog is denied her bed. Books, trucks, dolls, and dancing dresses and boxes remain her favorite toys. We've learned how to sort of play 'go fish'. Playing with open hands this is more a game of guided taking of turns and learning to make pairs. Looking forward to when she can play board games. She's not so little a baby now.