Life Stuff
Things to Say
For those who know me well, this may come as a shock . I don’t always have something to say. In fact, finding something so say here, for this blog, is often difficult.
I spend a lot of time writing for The Flickcast and on my other comic book, TV and film projects that by the time I get to this blog, I’ve pretty much lost whatever modicum of creative mojo I had. It’s a sad state of affairs really.
I would like nothing better than to have a bottomless well of creative juices. That just isn’t the case, though, at least not anymore.
I remember a time when that wasn’t true. And it doesn’t seem all that long ago. I distantly recall being able to work hours and hours and not only not be tired, but to have lots of fresh, interesting ideas as well.
Dare I say it but I guess this is one of the things that comes with getting older. I just can’t do it like I used to.
Of course, it could also be that I’m just lazy and this is all just an excuse so I can play Mass Effect 3 or some other new shiny. I guess that’s possible too.
No, now that I think about it, I’m sure it’s getting older. Yeah, that’s it.
Let’s go with that.
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.
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.
Resolutions, Smesalutions
As most of you are probably aware (unless you live somewhere that doesn’t reckon the calendar as we do here in the States) we are almost at the end of 2011 and will be well into 2012 by this time next week. Why am I bringing up the obvious?
I’m doing it because this is a perfect time to talk about resolutions. You know, those things that people always make at the end of the year and never keep? I’m talking about them.
I don’t make them. Haven’t in the past anyway. However, this time I think I’m going to make an exception. I’m going to make at least one.
What is this amazing resolution that will cause me to re-think my entire philosophy on resolutions? Glad you asked.
I am going to make a resolution to get more fun out of life. I know this might seem like an obvious one but I’ve realized over the last few years I’ve had less and less fun.
So, I’m going to change that – starting now. I hope you will all join me and get more fun out of life in 2012 too. I’m sure we could all use it.
Happy New Year and all the best for a healthy, happy and prosperous (and fun!) 2012.