Life
Head Down 'Til 2021
It seems the optimistic tone of my previous post about 2020 was a wee bit premature. Because, yeah, COVID 19 pandemic and all that.
So, now things suck. And we’ve been quarantined at home for a few months. And we can’t go to work, get a haircut, go to the movies or generally be within six feet of others without a mask or even greater forms of personal protection. And it seems things are gonna legit continue to suck for quite some time.
And yes, I don’t feel great about it most of the time. And yes, that’s a lot of “and” at the start of sentences. I get that. Did I mention the pandemic? I’m not exactly at my best. And I’m sure most of you aren’t either.
But you know what? That’s okay. It’s okay to feel whatever you’re feeling and to pretty much deal with this shit however you need to, short of hurting others, or yourself, of course.
Even though things look bleak, one thing is for sure, we will get through it. The pandemic will end. A vaccine will be developed and administered and life will get back to “normal.”
Will it be the same normal we were used to before? Nope. Might things still kinda suck for a long time? Maybe. Will it start to suck a bit less as time goes on? I sure hope so. I think it will suck for some time after but I also think we will start to feel better and eventually be okay.
It will just take some time. And that’s cool. I’m not going anywhere. And neither should you. Let’s just wait it out together. Okay? Cool.
And now I’m done. Try to be kind to each other while we’re in the middle of this shit. And heck, why not try it after we’re on the other side too?
Couldn’t hurt.
The Family Way
It’s been awhile. Yes, I know, you’ve missed me. I get it. I’ve missed you too. We used to have a pretty good relationship. And then I went and messed it up by not being around for, what, almost a year? Sorry about that.
It doesn’t really seem like its been that long. But time flies. Oh yes it does. In case you’ve forgotten what’s happened recently, here’s a bit of a refresher. I left LA/California and now live in Austin, TX. I’m a father. It’s a boy. He’s three. I’m semi-retired and stay home with him, which basically makes me a stay-at-home dad.
I love my life. I do, however, sometimes miss work. It was fun (mostly) and I’ll probably do it again one of these days. But I can’t complain, my kid is awesome and I get to watch him grow up every day. I’m very fortunate to be able to do that.
Also, I still do a podcast called The Flickcast with Joe Dilworth, my awesome co-host. And I take photographs, make things from wood and occasionally write. That pretty much catches us up.
Well, there is one other (pretty big) thing that’s happened since we last got together. As some of you may know, I’m adopted. Both of my adoptive parents are no longer alive and I miss them every day. I especially miss them when I want to ask parenting questions, but pretty much the rest of the time too.
I realize I’m far from perfect, but I think they did a pretty good job with me considering how much of a pain I was growing up. Spoiled only child and all that. Yes, I was quite the troublemaker. But in the end, I think I turned out okay. I only hope I can do the job half as well as they did. I’ll keep working on it.
But that’s not the big news. This big news is I’ve found my biological mother. Well, actually, H found her. H is good with stuff like that. But found she is and contact we have had. Quite a bit, actually. She’s great and we’ve discussed all sorts of things.
I’ve been to see her twice so far and plan on going again soon. I’m looking forward to it. But wait, as Steve Jobs used to say, there’s one more thing (at least). I’ve also got a brother and sister. And a niece. I know, right? A whole new family I never knew about.
I’ve spent time with my new Bro and Sis too. They’re terrific people and I look forward to getting to know them more. Actually, my sister, her husband and their daughter (the niece I mentioned) just visited us. And yes, a good time was had by all.
Just when I think life can’t get any better . . .
The Saga Continues
It amuses me when people post to their personal websites/blogs that they are not, in fact, dead. I’ve even done it myself. Probably more than once. Hey, here it is again: I’m not dead.
See, that wasn’t so bad.
The truth it I’ve been in a bit of a funk and haven’t had the motivation to write anything. I’ve been a bit down. A little on the low side. Bummed out. Sad, even. Why, you ask?
Well, I’ll tell you. It’s not my death that’s the problem, it’s my mom’s. Yes, you read that right, my mom passed away. It’s actually been a couple months now and I’ve had a bit of time to try to get used to it.
But if I’m being completely honest, I’m really not used to it . . . and I don’t think I ever will be. I think that’s okay though. I don’t think you’re supposed to get used to it or get over it.
You just learn to live with it.
On that note I’ve been trying to think of a fitting tribute to my mom and, perhaps, write something here that will do her justice. So far, I’ve pretty much failed.
What I can do is tell a story.
It was 1979 and the movie version of one of my favorite TV series, Star Trek, was finally coming to the big screen. It was called Star Trek: The Motion Picture and it would open on that Friday in December to mediocre reviews and somewhat disappointing box office.
But STtMP’s relative success is not really the point of this particular trip into the past.
The point is my mom let me skip school on that Friday, drove me to the theater and waited in line with me from the early morning until we were finally seated and where, in spite of the reviews, I had a great movie-going experience.
That’s the kind of mom she was.
Sure, some could argue allowing your child to skip school to see a movie isn’t the best example of parenting. But that doesn’t really matter. What matters is she encouraged me … in whatever direction I wanted to go.
Even if she didn’t exactly understand, or share, my passions, she helped me figure out ways to indulge and pursue them. She was always there for me whenever I needed her and whenever I wanted to try something new. No judgements, few questions, just support and love.
Even when I made mistakes, she was there for me. That happened quite a bit, as it does when you’re growing up. But with her help I learned from those mistakes and became better for it.
These are the things a parent does. It’s what my mom did. I would not be who I am today without her. I only hope I end up being half the parent she was.
It’s a lot to live up to.
DIY Not?
As I’m currently sitting in a hospital room waiting for the circle of life to begin, I have some time to reflect on other, somewhat less important, topics. Here goes.
As some of you may know, we recently purchased a house. As the house is relatively new (only about 10 years old), it didn’t require any major renovations, or anything of that nature, for us to be able to move in and be happy/comfortable.
All we really did is paint the inside, change the locks and make a few other basically cosmetic changes. Nothing big and nothing that required a reciprocating saw or a sledge hammer. I can’t decide for sure if I’m disappointed about that or not.
Now that we’ve been in the house a couple months, I’ve become more or less hooked on DIY TV shows (that and increasing my arsenal of cool tools). In particular, I watch several shows on the DIY network including The Rehab Addict and Holmes Make It Right. Or, really, anything with Mike Holmes.
These shows are pretty interesting and often very informative. I’m also entertained and I usually learn something. They do, however, have one downside: I now want to redo the entire house (or most of it anyway).
Since I’ve been watching the shows I look around the house and I see a lot of things I want to upgrade or improve. I could redo the bathrooms, change the stairs, add a room above the garage or upgrade the kitchen. There’s just so many possibilities. In short, I now have a DIY issue.
I don’t think it’s really going to be much of a problem as long as I keep in mind the fact that the last time I did any real construction, or anything like it, was over twenty years ago. At the time I was pretty good at it, but again, it was a long time ago.
Sure, things haven’t changed that much, but I do think some more information and thought is required before I tackle any real DIY projects at home. However, that doesn’t mean I can’t keep building my collection of awesome tools, right?
Busy, Busy, Busy
I wanted to illustrate just how busy I’ve been recently by having not one, but three “busy” titles for this missive. So yeah, I’ve been busy.
That’s not to say that most of you don’t lead busy lives as well, I’m sure you do. It’s that I don’t know most of you personally so I can’t really speak with any authority on the subject, now can I?
I can speak with some authority or myself, however. So yeah, I’ve been busy. Been working on the house, working on other projects, working in general and also preparing for the arrival of Project M.
I’ve also realized that this time I have now to do things is going to be far less very soon. With the arrival of Project M imminent, I can foresee quite a bit of my time being taken up dealing with the day-to-day duties of being a father. No, I don’t mind at all. In fact, I’m really looking forward to it.
Of course, that doesn’t mean I won’t, occasionally, miss having time to do other things. Free time will just have to be regulated a bit more from now on, that’s all. When you’ve lived your life a certain way for as many years as I have, a very large change like this will certainly cause one to rethink one’s priorities.
Fortunately for all concerned, I’m a very evolved human being and will have no trouble making this important transition. Well, fingers crossed anyway.
Let’s switch gears now and talk about another subject I’ve become acquainted with recently: Home Improvement. Fortunately, I’ve got some background in things of this type having done a bit of construction as a young man as well as having spent several years as a Grip on film and TV sets.
Sure, that doesn’t mean I’m ready to add a room onto the house (it doesn’t actually need one, truth be told) but I do feel I know my way around a screwdriver, hammer and various other power tools.
That also brings me to a subject I’m very excited about: Tools. I think every home owner (well, almost every one anyway) should have a set of basic tools for doing things around the house. I have a decent set of tools I’ve accumulated over the years and also have many of the ones my Father left for me. Others have been broken, borrowed or otherwise lost over the years.
Consequently, my tool kit is a bit lacking in some areas. So, of course, that means I get to buy new tools. I’m enjoying that quite a bit.
Once I put the kit full together, I’ll post it here so you can see what I feel comprises an essential tool kit. Until then, try to get some fun outta life, you know?
Louis C.K. Is Absolutely Correct 'Everything Is Amazing'
Take a look at this clip. He’s absolutely right. We should be happier because the world is pretty amazing. I know it’s hard to keep this in mind when things are looking down, but try. In the end, you’ll be happier for it.
All I Want for Christmas Is . . . Nothing
With both Christmas and my birthday fast approaching, I thought it would be prudent to share some thoughts I have about the holidays that will hopefully answer the question I frequently get asked around this time of year: “What do you want for Christmas and/or your birthday?”
The short answer is I don’t really want anything. That’s right, I don’t want you (or anyone else) to get me anything.
Confused? Allow me to elaborate.
I don’t need anything – The truth is I already have pretty much everything I need. If I do really want or need something I don’t already have, I’m extremely fortunate enough to be in the position to just go ahead and buy it for myself.
If there is something I haven’t already bought that I really want, it’s probably very expensive and definitely not something I would ever expect anyone to buy for me. Or, as it is in a lot of cases, I just don’t need it that bad and am willing to go without.
I already have too much stuff – In fact, I’m really trying to downsize the amount of stuff I already have, so adding new stuff is not really a priority. Plus, I am currently looking for a new place to live, which may or may not have more space than I currently have, so I really can’t be adding a lot of new until that’s sorted out.
Although, even if I did end up with a lot more space, I would likely still be trying to downsize. The simple fact is I realized a few years ago I can live with less. It was a terrific realization and I’ve tried to stick with it. So far, I’ve been pretty successful.
I could go on with more reasons, but those are the big ones. I have a good life and I’m thankful for it. I’m also extremely satisfied with the current quantity and quality of “things” in my life.
Although, if someone did want to buy me one of these, or one of these, or one of these (perhaps all three?), I might find a way to make an exception.
Until then, I’m just gonna sit over here on my more than adequate pile of stuff.
Happy Long Weekend and a Fitness Update
I hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving and ate until they could eat no more. As for me, I didn’t actually do that much eating this weekend as I’m in the midst of getting in shape for the rest of my life.
Yes, I realize the “rest of my life” thing might be heady stuff for this early on a Sunday, but what can I say? I’m taking steps to better myself, it’s going pretty well and I feel like sharing.
Since I started eating better, not drinking booze/beer and working with a personal trainer three months ago, I’ve lost over 20 pounds and can now fit into clothes I used to wear long ago and new ones I bought thinking I would eventually fit into them. I gotta say, it’s a pretty great feeling to be accomplishing a goal like this.
I’ve still got a lot of work to do so I can’t stop just yet and start eating pizza and drinking beer. That will come around again once I get to the weight and level of fitness I want to get to. At that point, an occasional binge here and there won’t be a problem.
Until then, it’s protein bars and turkey wraps on whole wheat tortillas for me. Fortunately, I actually like eating both of those things, so it’s not really that much of a problem.
The weird part is that I don’t really miss the bad food or booze all that much. I really thought I would. Sure, I think about eating pizza or a cheese burger, having a beer or, perhaps, a bit of 21 year old scotch now and then, but I really don’t miss any of it. It just isn’t as important as I thought it was.
What it really comes down to is this: I want to live a long, happy and healthy life instead of any of the alternatives. In short, I choose me.
I think I made the right choice.
House Hunting
Be very, very quiet . . . I’m hunting houses. Yes, that’s right, I’m in the market for a new place to live. I would like it to be somewhere with a yard, although I’m not completely sold on that. That’s more of H’s thing.
Still, having a yard would be cool for some things, I suppose. Of course, if you have a yard people will want to come over and be in it for BBQs and so forth, which is also one of the many hazards to having a yard.
And don’t get me started on the zombies. They love a good yard . . . especially when there’s lots of people in it gathered for said BBQ.
Maybe I need to look for a nice, easily defensible condo? Or, perhaps, a place like this.
Decisions, Decisions
I really hate making decisions in most situations. Often, I have good reasons for choosing either option I’m deciding between. Sadly, I’m in the midst of such a quandry at the moment and not sure how to proceed.
Over the years I’ve discovered that I have a lot of interests. Sometimes, those many interests hinder my focus on one thing in particular. After all, there’s only so many hours in the day and I only have so much energy so. . . you get the idea.
I’m going to be soliciting advice from people who’s opinions I trust and will arrive at some sort of decision sooner rather than later. That’s my process and I guess it’s pretty much the best way to go. I don’t like it but I’ll do it.
Although, I really shouldn’t feel too bad about having to make these kinds of important decisions. It could be so much worse.
I’m very lucky that I even get a choice at all.
In Other News, Moving Sucks
As someone who’s lived in Los Angeles for over 15 years, I never thought I would live anywhere else. Sure, on occasion, I’ve imagined moving to New York or Austin or Portland (or somewhere even more exotic), but I never really thought I would leave LA.
But over the last few years, something changed. The city I loved started to annoy me. Then, grate on me. Then, I really started to dislike it intensely. It was an odd feeling to be sure and one I was sure I would never have. But, as they say, things change. LA and I had grown apart.
So, with that in mind and looking for new adventures, I packed up my stuff, grabbed Heather and her stuff after selling her place and moved South.
No, I haven’t moved to the “real” South, I’ve only moved South of LA and behind what people like to call “The Orange Curtain.” For the moment, H and I are renting a relatively new apartment that was originally built as a condo while we look for a house or similar.
But I gotta tell you, even though I really was looking forward to the move and really like the place and area we picked (Irvine, if you’re curious), the move itself was a pain in the ass that almost killed me.
I had not moved in quite a few years and the last time I did it I was apparently much better at it (and in better shape) as I don’t remember it being this difficult.
But this time, I really wasn’t very good at it. It really took a toll which I’m just now shaking off almost a week later. Before you ask, we had movers. They did all of the heavy lifting (and most of the light as well). It just seems to be such an overwhelming task this time.
I’m pretty sure almost everyone dislikes moving. Or, lets face it, hates it with a fiery passion hotter than a thousand suns. Even at its best, its very unpleasant. It really throws a wrench into your life even if you’re going to a place you really want to go and you have lots of help. It’s still a pain in the ass.
The unfortunate part is as much as I disliked having to move this time, I’m going to have to do it again this year once we find a more permanent place to live. Plus, I’m also going to have to move my Mom closer to us as well this year and vacate the house she’s lived in for over forty years.
Damn. And I thought I had it bad this time.
Ups and Downs
Well, so much for the great “let’s post my Instagram photos to my blog automagically” experiment. If you’ve been following this site the last couple days, you know it went horribly wrong and resulted in lots of the same thing being posted over and over again.
Not good. Made even more not good by the fact that this site is setup to automatically update my Twitter with new posts and that’s set to automatically post to my Facebook. Not good times a hundred thousand.
So, that meant a lot of extraneous posts and a whole slew of bullshit I needed to deal with today in addition to the ever increasing pile I already have allotted to me. But I’m not unhappy.
However, to read this site or my Twitter or Facebook you might get the impression I’m disgruntled, angry or otherwise unhappy. Not at all.
In fact, I’m not disgruntled, rarely angry and thousands of miles away from unhappy. Just ask anyone who knows me well and they’ll tell you. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
Welcome back. I tend to go the opposite direction of angry and in most cases, I just keep on being happy. I’m not saying I never feel down or sad, I do. Everyone does. Well, most everyone anyway. Probably not sociopaths. But they’re just weird.
Anyway, the truth is for a vast majority of the time I feel happy and I think life is pretty good. It has some ups and downs, sure, but to me that’s what makes it interesting.
Of course, I say this as an educated, white male living well above the poverty line in a city with great weather, great people and with a lot of opportunities for work, fun and to live life to the fullest. Yes, luck may be a factor too.
However, even with a lot of luck you still need to do something with the opportunities presented to you. You can’t just sit back and expect the world to come to you. It doesn’t work that way and at some point, if you’re still waiting, eventually you’re going to be disappointed.
The trick is to get out there and do something before that happens. That’s why I make sure I’m as busy as possible doing a variety of things that a love. I don’t want to look back later at my life and be an old man filled with regret (apologies to Christopher Nolan for cribbing that line).
That’s what helps me stay happy. It might not work for you but hell, it’s worth a try, right?
Let me know how it goes.
Monday Blues
It’s Monday. To most people that means heading back to work after a weekend that was too short during which they probably didn’t get to do what they really wanted to do and instead had to clean out the garage or (insert chore you’ve been avoiding for months here).
For me, however, Monday is pretty much just another day of the week.
Why do I say that? Well, I’m a person who works “freelance.” As in, I go from project to project, job to job, gig to gig and get paid for that gig. Once it’s over, I’m done and I move on. Or, hopefully the same people hire me again to do something else for them or, in some cases, more of the same.
I’m also a person who, if I don’t have someone paying me to do something right that moment (which happens, believe me), is probably doing something anyway. That means I pretty much work every day. I’m not complaining, mind you. I chose this way of life long ago and I’m sticking to it.
Monday, Friday, Thursday, Sunday, it doesn’t really matter. Chances are if I’m even marginally awake, I’m doing something. These days, most of that time is spent writing.
That doesn’t mean I’m sitting at the desktop or with the laptop pounding on the keys and actively writing a story, script, comic, blog post or whatever. To me, writing also encompasses all the stuff I do before and after the actual process of inputting the thing.
Outlining, breaking a story, thinking about characters, brainstorming, research, pre-writing, whatever. I don’t really have an “official” name for that time, I just lump it in with writing. That, in turn, I consider working.
I’ve heard a saying that goes something (or exactly) like this: “If you love what you do, you work every day of your life.”
Yep, that pretty much covers it.
The Importance of Doing Nothing
Unless you use a different calendar than I do (which is possible, I guess) you know today is Sunday. This day is also known as my favorite day of the week. You know this if you read my earlier post on that very subject.
Seeing as this is my favorite day of the week, what am I going to do with it you may wonder? The short answer, for this week at least, is nothing.
I’m a big fan of doing nothing, at least once in awhile. With all that goes on during the days and weeks and months of work, deadlines and life in general, when you have a chance to just sit, watch mindless TV, read a book or comic or write blog posts, I say take it.
I don’t have all that much to do right at the moment, especially today. I have work that needs to be done and deadlines coming up, but right at this moment, today, they are not urgent. I also don’t have any pressing social engagements, things I have to do for Heather or any children to worry about (at least not yet) so none of that is vying for my time today either.
These times don’t come along all that often, but when they do, it’s wrong to just ignore them. Plus, doing nothing has a lot of benefits.
It helps you recharge and get ready for the days and weeks of work ahead. It also helps you unplug from the computer, social media and all that that entails.
And, it helps you discover and explore new things like books you haven’t gotten to, comics you needed to read, all those neglected episodes of Firefly on Netflix or The Wire on HBO Go or any number of other pursuits that seem to always get relegated to “someday soon” due to life’s relentless pressure to do something else.
So, with that in mind, I choose to seize this opportunity and do nothing. It won’t last long, but it doesn’t have to. The trick is just to enjoy it while you can.
Doing nothing is kinda like life that way.
Two notes for those of you who’ve read this far down.
• Believer, my comic book project at Kickstarter, is doing pretty well after only a couple days. Check it out if you have a minute.
• I will not be going to CES this year for many reasons, but mostly because I just don’t really want to. I’m pretty sure if you asked most of the people at CES they would say they don’t want to be there either. Trust me, it’s not as fun as it seems.
Ass, Cash or Grass
Today was one of those long days where I spent the majority of my time doing that stuff I mentioned in a previous post instead of anything particularly creative. In other words, the creative side of my brain had to take a back seat to the practical side.
I don’t mind too much when that happens, even though I bitch about it. I just don’t it when it seems like that’s all I’m doing.
The truth is I do like to help people and at the risk of sounding a touch immodest, I’m pretty good at it. I guess it must fill some need of mine to solve puzzles or something.
It’s probably the same reason I like doing Sudoku. I need to get to the end and I need to know the answers. So, I keep looking for them.
Of course, it isn’t all about helping people and finding answers. I also like paying bills, buying cool toys and generally making a living. So, it’s off to the proverbial salt mines I go.
Don’t feel bad for me though. Even if I have experienced a lot of unpleasant things in the past few years, my life is still pretty good. Plus, there’s a whole bunch of people in the world with far bigger problems than I have so when I feel like bitching, I’m often compelled to keep my pie hole shut and just move on.
Obviously, that didn’t happen this week. These were extraordinary circumstances and I needed to get some stuff out. I don’t know if it will happen again but I don’t want this site to have that kind of focus too often.
I want it to be a happy place. Not the happiest place on Earth (I think that’s already taken anyway), but at least a place where people feel it’s okay to stop over for a bit and not get too bummed out. I don’t think that’s too much to ask and I will do my best to achieve it.
I realize at this juncture it’s tempting to thank me. But please, there’s no need. I do it because I care.
On a somewhat related note, keep an eye out for a new project from me and one of my favorite collaborators. It will be announced this week. I don’t want to spoil the surprise, but suffice it to say it’s going to be pretty cool and I’m very proud of how it’s going so far.
Watch this space (and a few other places) for all the details. Until then, I leave you in suspense.
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As sometimes happens, the title of this post has almost nothing to do with the content. My apologies. I will try to do better next time.
A Few Words About Loss
I don’t want this post to turn into anything overly maudlin or depressing, but given recent events, I just wanted to say a few words about loss. I will try not to kill your buzz too much.
For the most part, I’ve been very fortunate in my life. I almost always get to work with great people, have a lot of good friends and caring people in my life, work on interesting and fun projects and generally speaking, up until recently, I’ve never had to experience any type of loss of a family member, friend or other generally catastrophic event.
Then, a few years ago, my father died.
A month later, one of my best fiends since childhood died. Then, I got divorced and had to completely change my living arrangements, how I viewed and lived my life and my feelings about the future. Two months ago my favorite Aunt died followed, this week, by my favorite Uncle.
But wait, there’s more. During the time my father was ill and around the time my childhood best friend died, I also had a brief period where I thought I was sick. This is something almost nobody knows.
In the end, it turned out to be nothing. But let me tell you, the time between when you first discover something and the Doctor tells you it’s nothing can seem like a fucking eternity.
I don’t recommend it.
My Uncle dying this week has brought to the surface a lot of feelings about death and loss. The sad fact is we’re all going to die someday. I hope for all of us that day is a long, long, long time from now. However, we just don’t really know.
This time two days ago my Uncle was planning a vacation with his family. He had gotten a diagnosis of Leukemia last year but it had responded to treatment and he was doing well. Then, he got sick. At first, it seemed like a cold but it got progressively worse. 48 hours later he was gone.
This is the part where I roll out the chestnuts and tell you that every moment of life is important. I don’t care if countless people have said it before, and better. Doesn’t make it any less important.
So, for those of you who still need to hear it (and the rest of you who think you don’t) here it is:
Make the most out of life because you never know how long you, or your loved ones, have. In other words, life is short. Get it? Good.
I know I promised not to be overly maudlin or depressing, so I’m trying to end on a high note. The good news is most of us will have a lot of years to live our lives to the fullest and every day is a new chance to do something great and wonderful for yourself, for others and to live your life to the fullest. Take that chance and run with it.
See, that wasn’t so bad.
Convergence and Balance
I’ve often mentioned here that I seem to have my feet in two different worlds. There’s the world where I go forth and make money to buy the things I think I need, to pay my bills and to save for the child I don’t have yet’s college education.
There’s also the world where I fulfill my creative needs by writing or expressing myself in other ways. I also call this the “real work” world. If you’re a writer, you know what I’m talking about.
Most of the time those two worlds do not converge.
With 2011 winding down and with me being another year older (and presumably wiser), it’s occurred to me that I need to make those two worlds converge more frequently. In other words, how can I make more money doing that which creatively satisfies me?
I realize this is quite the dilemma for so early in the morning (I’m writing this at around 6AM Pacific time) but these are precisely the times when you tend to think about these types of weighty issues. I can’t help it, the thoughts just come to me and they need to be addressed – sleep or other considerations be dammed.
Returning to my point, I need to figure out a way (or ways) to make money doing what I love. I’m sure people out there must have faced a similar situation, so if you’re reading this and feeling inclined to help, chime on in.
Until help comes from unexpected but welcome corners of the Internets, I’ve gone ahead and formulated a plan on my own. Or, at least I’ve got an interim plan until something better comes to mind.
In truth, my plan is relatively simple as it involves doing pretty much what I already do and how I do it. The main difference is in how I will allocate my time during the day and what I will focus on.
For example, under this new plan I will now spend as much time writing something (a short story, script, blog post, etc.) as I do on the Internet. I include time spent on Facebook, Twitter, etc. in that as well. I also do this in hopes of reducing the time I spend reading Twitter, on Facebook or reading mindless blog posts.
Going along with that will be an attempt to “reduce the clutter” of my online information stream. In other words, I will visit fewer sites less frequently and try only to read those sites that feature what I consider to be “good” writing and not attention grabbing link bait disguised as writing.
I will also schedule my day better. I will allocate blocks of time to tasks and only do those tasks during that specific time. Of course, this will have to be somewhat flexible to allow for creative bursts of energy and inspiration so if I’m “on a roll” I don’t have to cut it off to fit a particular schedule.
Going along with that I will also have a definitive cutoff to the day when I won’t, for example, answer emails from clients or deal with other matters that don’t have anything to do with the creative world.
I think the term I’m looking for here is balance. Although, that may not be exactly applicable in this case. I’m not looking for balance, per se, I’m actually looking for a way to spend the vast majority of my time in that second, creative, world.
The best case is that those two worlds converge completely and I spend all of my work time doing those things which make me the happiest. If I could make a few bucks in the process, all the better.
Obviously, I’m still working on the full plan, but I feel pretty good about it so far. At least I’ve mostly identified the problem and are taking some steps to remedy it.
I know I can do better and I know this plan will evolve over time like any good one should. Stay tuned to see how the goes.
But until then, this is what I’ve got. And really, what did you expect at 6AM?
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Note - I’m not sure what the pic above has to do with this particular topic. I just like it, okay?
Christmas Birthday 101
The holidays are upon us in earnest and Christmas is coming this Sunday. I’m also having a birthday this week too. In fact, it’s tomorrow (Thursday).
Before you feel too bad for me and express sympathies that my birthday must get forgotten due to its proximity to Christmas, I will make you feel better by telling you that in all the time I’ve been alive, I’ve never felt bad about having a birthday three days before Christmas.
There’s one reason for that (well, two). Harold and Dorothy. My parents.
My parents came into my life sorta late in theirs. They tried for several years to have a kid the old fashioned way, but in the end, for whatever reason, they were unsucessful. So, like countless others who wanted a child, but just couldn’t make it happen, they turned to adoption.
That’s where I came into the picture. My parents adopted me, sealed the deal in late November, I was born on December 22 and they brought me home to live with them on Christmas day.
Since that time, my parents, being the intelligent and thoughtful people they are, went to great effort to distinguish my birthday from Christmas. It was always considered a seperate day and talk of Christmas was put aside until it was over.
Sure, the house usually already had Christmas lights and decorations up (my father was like that), but that was not allowed to detract from my birthday. If my party was at the house, we celebrated in a room away from the tree and as much of the rest of the Christmas-centric decor as we could manage.
They were also really great at making sure I had separate birthday and Christmas gifts each year. My mom still does that to this day.
I have no doubt that when I see her this weekend she will make me open my birthday presents first and then make me wait for the Christmas presents until a respectable amount of time has passed. Somewhat of a traditionalist is Dorothy. If my dad were still alive, I’m sure he’d insist on the same thing.
The purpose of this missive is to say that I’ve been very fortunate to have these two people in my life. Whatever happened, they always put me first and made sure I never needed or wanted for anything.
I could not have asked for better people to show me the whys and wherefores of life. I just hope, if I ever have children of my own, I can do half as good a job as they did.
It’s a tough act to follow.
Looking For Inspiration
No matter what I’ve achieved in my life, occasionally I find myself in need of some inspiration or motivation (or both). Usually, whatever I need comes from inside me and I end up making it work somehow.
Other times, I need to look elsewhere for what I need. Today is one of those days. So, to help me move forward and do what I need to do, here's a little inspiration from my man Steve Jobs.
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UF8uR6Z6KLc?rel=0&w=480&h=390]
Whatever you may think of him or Apple, he certainly knows his way around public speaking. We could all hope to be this good at something someday.
Money quote:
"Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. Don't be trapped by dogma, which is living with the results of other people's thinking. Don't let the noise of others' opinions drown out your own inner voice, heart and intuition."
Yep. I needed that.