What Work-Related Pet Peeves Do You Have?

Sunny Side Updates with TBIN || Week 41!

Welcome to week 41 with The Brain is a Noodle!

This week’s shortform prompt was inspired by an earlier piece:

This Could Have Been An Email

A poem and an idea for stamp makers

medium.com

One that I passionately wrote after a 2-hour meeting that was a re-iteration of what’s already documented in writing by email. I can get it if you disseminate a powerpoint or document to a group and want to make sure you’re playing to the strengths of people who like information auditorily (via meetings) and also visually (via the document). Or, to make space for clarification and questions.

But in absence of that, when it’s just me, when I’ve already taken the 15 minutes it takes to review the document, when no new information is being provided via the meeting and when no time for questions or clarifications are being given — what is the point of reiterating the info?

When this happens, I reflect on whether I’d done something wrong, or given off the impression that I didn’t quite understand things from the document itself, or failed to be self-aware about what I’m missing that warranted that extra meeting.

Alas, it remains a mystery and I continue to learn (and sit in long, seemingly inefficient meetings).

That’s my pet peeve.

What’s yours?

Lucy 🍳 EIC of The Brain is a Noodle* Podcast || Twitter || Instagram || Redbubble || Newsletter *This is factually incorrect. Please absolutely do not go out and eat brains.

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This week’s shortform prompt

What is your work-related pet peeve?

If you're not easily peeved / annoyed, what's one thing that people can do at work to make your life a bit easier?

*Ps, if you're not currently employed, apply this to the duties, responsibilities or activities that take up most of your day!

Daily Poetry Challenge Prompt Archive || Responses

🔴 day 1 prompt: clump of cells (my response)
🟠 day 2 prompt: an acrostic poem to an acronym that has declined significantly in popularity (my response)
🟡 day 3 prompt: courage (my response)
🟢 day 4 prompt: extreme (my response)
🔵 day 5 prompt: jealousy  (my response)
🟣 day 6 prompt: different (my response)
🟤 day 7 prompt: use a paradox(my response)

#OngoingAdventure Fiction Series Submit your chapter here || Start reading here

🍜 Piping Hot New(dle) Pieces of the Week

Challenge: *highlight* the ones you bookmarked/ read and make sure everyone gets highlighted at least once! ❤

🧠🍜 [1] Pandemic Weight by Karen Schwartz ‘When the pandemic struck it brought horror and disease to a world unprepared. Most thought they had little to gain until our bellies extended, our waists expanded, and we learned we were wrong.’

🧠🍜 [2] What is Your Today Purpose (No, Not Your Life’s)? by Emily Wilcox ‘What is today’s purpose? Not tomorrow’s. Not next year’s.’

🧠🍜 [3] I’m Not Good, I’m American by Ajah Hales ‘I’m not a good person, I’m an American. I ate cashews with glee until the soft crunching tasted like little brown fingers salted. I don’t eat them now.’

🧠🍜 [4] The Money Song by Gisel La Fleur ‘This cheeky and amazing song about money will open up your money channel in magical ways!’

🧠🍜 [5] Beautiful and Ominous by Michael Burg, MD (AKA Medium Michael Burg) ‘Devil’s Bridge is a stunningly beautiful but treacherous rocky outcropping prone to huge waves that crash violently on the sharp stones. One can cross Devil’s Bridge with extreme care, and I did, but seconds later look back to see the “bridge” covered with several feet of roiled surf.’

🧠🍜 [6] Sleep, Blissful Sleep by Barbara Dalton ‘As a kid, I loathed going to bed. Now, I can’t wait to snuggle under the covers, mould my squishy pillow into a ball and drift off into slumber.'

🧠🍜 [7] Friendship Across the Miles by Jennifer Dunne ‘I haven’t seen my best friend in over two years. We did everything together for 20 years. My parents considered her a second daughter. Then, I got married and moved across the country.’

🧠🍜 [8] A Bowl of Plums by Chris Mooney-Singh ‘You are my pickled plum, salt-sweet candy dropped to spice up the rice gruel. You are my brown rice pot.’

🧠🍜 [9] Deer Crossing by CARMEN F MICSA ‘There is something so charming and bucolic about Carmichael, the suburb in the greater Sacramento metropolitan area, where my family and I live, because of the small ranches with horses and the deer that roam around freely — taking over neighbors’ lawns and yards with aplomb.’

🧠🍜 [10] Free but Confined by Mary Keating ‘Today Bezos and company make history; but no matter how rich or powerful we become, our bodies’ needs still set our limits.’

🧠🍜 [11] Our Mushroom- and Snack-like Brain by Earl Grey Sea ‘But no. It turns out the brain is more like a bunch of enoki mushrooms or a 龍鬚糖 (dragon’s beard candy).’

🧠🍜 [12] Staffie Lover by America Zed ‘Where did you get all that ‘Masterful’ from, Behold the wide chunkiness You can’t go wrong.’

🧠🍜 [13] What If… by Barbara Dalton ‘I often look back on my career as a nurse To my very first day when I felt somewhat cursed — A posting in paediatric cardiology administration declared Kids not being my forté, I was overcome with dread.’

🧠🍜 [14] Fortune Cookie Generators-Great Luck on Autopilot by Warren Brown ‘I have always loved opening a fortune cookie. In the United States, the 20th of July is fortune cookie day. In the rest of the world, Fortune Cookie Day is on the 13th of September.’

🧠🍜 [15] Batman by Michael Hollifield ‘Night at the movies Parents murdered in alley Butler raises Bruce’

🧠🍜 [16] Spiderman, Spiderman by Michael Hollifield ‘Here’s Peter Parker A normal high school student On a class field trip’

🧠🍜 [17] Oh, Mango! by Ashlea Morgan ‘Author’s Notes: I love mangos. They’re so colorful, fragrant, and tropical! They really wear their hearts on their sleeves — they show you their journey to get to you by never hiding their bruises and scars.’

🧠🍜 [18] Oblique by Courtenay S. Gray ‘a tiny poem so I didn’t want give any of it away! Click through for the piece! ‘

🧠🍜 [19] The Beholder by Cameron Sidhe ‘Goddess Ganga, forever combing Shiva’s hair diaphanous dress soaked with holy water bangles jangling in the sticky breeze’

🧠🍜 [20] A Ghost in the Image by Jupiter Grant ‘Does the orb of light in the visual field indicate to us a ghostly yield?’

🧠🍜 [21] Healing through celebration by Las siete y más ‘When I was a kid, giving and receiving letters was a common thing between my friends (no need for a special occasion). I still keep all of those letters in a box.’

🧠🍜 [22] An Acrostic Poem About An Acrostic Poem by Earl Grey Sea ‘Accusations and judgments, Came because of you.’

🧠🍜 [23] If I Was in Wu-Tang Clan, This Would Be My Super Cool Rap Name by Nia Simone McLeod ‘One of my favorite bits of hip-hop trivia is that Childish Gambino got his rap name from a Wu-Tang name generator. He’s confirmed it many times, including the almost 10-year-old interview with Fuse below.’

🧠🍜 [24] Sorry, Skunky-Poo, But No Entry Here by Jennifer McDougall ‘Moral of this story: Even/especially if it is after midnight, you’re extra sleepy, super pregnant, and treading on slippery tiles, always put on your glasses!’

🧠🍜 [25] Skunk Stare by Dave Logan ‘*No people or skunks were soiled (hopefully) in the making of this silly limerick. If you see a skunk, stay as far away as possible. You really don’t want to deal with the cleansing after being sprayed.’

🧠🍜 [26] The Sad Reality by Roselyn Violet ‘Standing in my balcony drinking a cup of tea, The pollution with summer air is overwhelming. I see a blurry vision of the famous metropolis, Evening grey sky, a mist of misery, lots of loud music.’

🧠🍜 [27] Wonder Woman by Michael Hollifield ‘Paradise Island Feminist Utopia Amazon warriors’

🧠🍜 [28] Unlock the Love Inside You to Fly It in Uncharted Skies by Ruchi Thalwal ‘In between the extremes of life, Sadness and happiness Lies a balance called bliss’

🧠🍜 [29] Superman by Michael Hollifield ‘Home planet destroyed His parents sent him to earth The Kents found his ship’

🧠🍜 [30] A Brief Profile of Courage. Why, When, and How It Arrived? by Deepshikha Bhagat ‘Courage happened because there was Discouragement, Intimidation, Depression, Confusion, Fear, Deceit, Ridicule, and Derision.’

🧠🍜 [31] Instant Love by Jennifer Leth ‘Your range of branded names is non-judgemental. Your ease and bounty comfort many.’

🧠🍜 [32] Comparing apples to oranges by Dazzling Shene ‘You expect me to be different To bear all fruits in a single tree laden unto thee’

🔊 Voices to Amplify

We don’t have to leave it to the algorithm to suggest our favourite pieces! Here are some of my archived faves!

The Things Which Are Absent Are As Acceptable as the Things That I Have

A poem on not desiring anything.

medium.com

My Love of Hand-making Cards

Poetry Prompt: Greeting Cards

medium.com

WEOC Recap #5: 3 in 1 Special Growth and Guest Speaker, Hal Harris Talks Writing His Pub, Est.

Writers and Editors of Color Rock — 3 in 1 Special

medium.com

Black History Month and Women’s History Month Are the Same Season to Me

I’mma just keep talking about Black women

zora.medium.com

The Gods have sent us rain

The Earth flourishes once again

medium.com

Thank you to Ruchi Thalwal, Vijini Mallawaarachchi, Teressa P., Casira Copes and Warren Brown for these pieces!

🧠🍜 Thank you to the Noodle Team!

challenge: pick 3 writers you haven’t met yet and get acquainted with their pieces!

Ps, if any of these links are outdated, please leave a note to let me know!

🚿 parting shower thought

If you read to the end, tell me a non-horror book that gets increasingly spooky when you read it at a more mature age! (I’ll add it to my to-read list!)