Hey everybody, welcome to my Blog. My name is Ray Conteur and this is just a bit of a "Hello and welcome to my blog." A quick glimpse into me and a few of the reasons behind my desire to put my thoughts down on virtual paper.

While I certainly don't claim to have any formal training, nor talent, as a writer, I've always had an untapped passion, a burning desire so to speak, for writing. And everything you read on my Blog is without a doubt written from my heart. Not always from my own perspective, nor my own viewpoint, but undoubtedly with a strong desire to stir the thought processes of others.

As far back as I can remember, all the way back to Elementary School, I enjoyed short stories and such. Both reading, as well as writing. I found it... Read More

I thought I'd give a quick introduction of sorts. Well, semi quick anyway, as a means of helping others relate to who I am, where I came from, and how the heck I ended up here.

When I say here, I'm referring to my Blog. Which, if you knew my seemingly life long disdain for all things computer related, as my father was a computer programmer and he continually came home from work anything but happy, then you'd know just how strange it is that not only have I written every word presented here, but I've also created the entire Blog itself.

From the choice of domain, to the continually evolving work in progress you see presented here on your screen, I personally accept all responsibility. For better or worse. And crazy as it may seem, I've enjoyed nearly every minute of the seemingly never ending, sometimes extremely frustrating, but more often than not, highly rewarding, process. Who'd a thunk.

Speaking of my Blog, perhaps a bit... Read More

I recently took on a "Challenge" of sorts. A 30 Day *Attitude of Gratitude* Challenge to be more exact. It occurred to me that we all have something to be grateful for each and every day.

And while it's not always that easy to recognize, nor remember them, if we do a bit of digging, they always seem to come to the surface. I will admit that I thought it would be much easier to find these daily blessings but to be honest, they weren't always as 'visible' as I thought they would be. But as I mentioned, just a bit of digging and I could always find something to be grateful for.

One thing you'll notice is in the beginning, the challenge was intended to be just a quickie daily reminder. But as the days moved along, typical me, I got more and more involved in exploring the benefits... Read More

The following is an excerpt from one of my most recent posts. If you would enjoy reading the entire Post, then please click on "Read More"  at the end of the excerpt and you'll be redirected to the full post as well as to links to many more of my posts.

Honest, I did my best. I really tried my darndest to resist temptation. Although I know all the reasons, too many calories, too much grease, any way you choose to look at it, just not healthy for me. Yet, here I was, caught in its greasy grip, the mile long line up at the In'N'Out Burger Drive Thru, anxiously awaiting placement of my order.

With the line being so long I still had time to do the right thing, to turn around and go back home. After all, this burger wasn't something I had to have, only something I wanted and that alone wasn't really a good enough reason to indulge. Or was it?

Like an invisible magnetic force, pulling me closer and even though I did resist, I still found myself being pulled forward toward that little red framed window. It was at this point that I came to the realization that... Read More

For anyone that has ever done any writing whatsoever, from something as simple as a weekly grocery list up to a 60,000 word Novel, I seriously doubt there is one person that can truthfully say that their mind has not wandered somewhere along in the process.

It seems to be a natural thing. Call it writer's block, temporary amnesia, a Senior moment, whatever you like. At the end of the day it's simply another form of brain fade. Another example of the mind heading in one direction, doing everything possible to stay on course and try as you might, not 30 seconds later, you're on another train of thought.

And for some of us, that can best be described as the Crazy Train. Yes, I admit it. When, not if, but when my mind wanders it has a tendency to head off in directions unknown. In search of destinations as yet undiscovered. And the more often I realized I was doing this, rather than continue to reprimand myself and then not two minutes later go right back to doing the very same thing, I decided instead to...Read More