Month: April 2013

I remain convinced that more people are driven by the acquisition of stuff than emotional (and perhaps even spiritual) growth. I’ve fallen into this trap a few times myself. In American parlance we cal it ‘trying to keep up with the Jones” but in reality it is a reflection of wanting things as a surrogate for growth and happiness. I believe it is socialized into us and wanting things (as a reflection of status and goal attainment) becomes a focus of our lives. Sadly, that focus often does not correspond with the goal of emotional and spiritual growth.

I want stuff as an expression of goals, and perhaps moreso as a way to put others at ease or even impress. I’ve always wanted to have the space people want to be in because it reflects on me as a person and someone individuals want to spend time with. Part of that is the classic, ‘I want people to like me’ stuff that we all go through. More of it is the media influencing me as to what a proper home needs.

I ought to give this a closer look in the future, but for now my 10 minutes are up.

Hovering around 206 lbs I realize weight loss is going to take more than the cessation of sugars from my diet. I changed the way I eat and the result is a 10 lb net loss. Unfortunately, I still remain 20 lbs from my ultimate goal. As with last year, my mental energy is coalescing towards doing something more athletic with myself. On the other hand, I skipped football this morning. I sat in the garage considering the short trip to the field and finally balked at the idea. I don’t know why. In retrospect I should have ridden my bike to the game, bumping pump-up beats the entire way. There are ways to increase your athletic output, but you need to want to do it. I often don’t want to get off the couch and get my butt in gear. Still, I can see shaping up the garage to create a cool work out space rigged with sound and monitors, so I can bump as I burn off this belly fat.

On the other hand, all these desired affectations could be just that–a distraction to create a workspace I never use. My office is that way, and it currently sits a forgotten mess. Real desire would lead me to work as my sib-in-laws do (though I personally avoid the distinction between in-law and otherwise–having no known otherwise) with whatever is available and as hard as I can.

I know that death is down the road, but I don’t work out to prelong life. When driven to exercise, the pilot is desire to perform and desire to maintain or even improve quality of life. The problem is, life is pretty good from the couch. The trick is deciding that life is better off the couch.

Kajrun Kombz of Facebook wrote, “Why do so many guys care what happens to Sanchez? Sounds like a nationwide man-crush.” The man couldn’t be more right with his analysis. We love to watch drama unfold, mostly because it serves as an excellent distraction to our own lives. We also like to watch drama unfold because of what drama means. Drama tells us that there is something at stake for the characters involved. When something is at stake or at risk, we recognize that there is a possibility for failure and even disaster. Who doesn’t love a good disaster?

Mark Sanchez is a sex-free Jodi Arias. We know that he is on trial for wrongs committed against the New York Jets fanbase. His supporter, Rex Ryan, is gonna go down with the ship. They brought in a media-fresh name, Tebow, to rile things up and we watched every minute. This is classic TV, but it isn’t meaningful or even slightly relevant.

Meanwhile, we’ve forgotten about North Korea in the face of our own bombing, just like we forgot about Syria in the face of North Korea. The media is a pusher, shoving something new, interesting, and maybe even marginally relevant in our face in hopes we get hooked and come back for more.

It is working. After all, I watched the draft.

I think it is important to be a part of your community. I’ve lived in my small town for nearly a decade and I am only now beginning to form lasting friendships. Tonight I went out with one of those families from the ‘hood and had a fabulous time. The reality is this sort of thing doesn’t naturally happen for a lot of Phoenix folk. Though we don’t have the density of New York, there are enough people here that it is impossible to go very long without seeing your neighbors. Failing to acknowledge that and them strikes me as a wasted opportunity.

Every conversation with someone new is an opportunity to find someone who can enhance your life. I truly believe that and live by that principle, which is why it is so odd that I hadn’t done this before.

But, I’m rambling…

Some Thoughts:

1. Finished principle work on every major deadline project in the queue. This means that I can relax enough to formalize a writing schedule that is more purposeful and less frantic. I loved the experience of writing so much in such a short time. Now I feel like I can do more with my writing. What a great growth opportunity!

2. Sounds like opportunity is the word of the day. Perhaps Geno Smith will get an opportunity for the Jets–especially if they cut Sanchez. Oh please cut him. PLEASE.

As the case against the Boston Bomber builds, much of the narrative created around the bombing unravels. It appears certain now that many news outlets were going off of false information because of a rush to print.

I am rushed and exhausted, so this will need to be continues tomorrow…

Taking a break from Shadowrun writing to talk a little football and consider the implications of the off-season trades on a league stumbling towards parity. Football guru Mike Mayock released his well researched mock draft on the eve of the real draft. It confirmed what everyone else suspects: The QB’s aren’t top pick material, so any major team additions are going to come from the line on out. That leads to my own surprises for 13.

The Seahawks will be better than ever: Everyone knows what a ripple effect is. The Seahawks off season moves will have a ripple effect on that division, making it tough for the Niners to maintain dominance and tougher for the Cardinals to be relevant at all. The Rams are still a question mark–even with the consolidation of every man named Long in the league. If they turn out to be relevant it can seriously shake up the NFC playoff race. That all comes down to what kind of playmaker they can snag in the draft. Miami is offering Davone Bess, and the Rams could use a guy like him stretching the field.

The Giants are average still: But as long as they get hot at the right time, they can run the table. This goes double for the Packers who suffer from the same affliction. I think the Giants are going to look to address this by drafting a few guys who can hang in there and maintain intensity for 16 weeks. I don’t think, from a personality standpoint, they’ll go for the Honey Badger, but they should. The more likely move will be to improve the line on both sides and rely on the existing talent to mature. It worked for Cruz and now there is a backfield full of RB’s who need to step up

Today one of my favorite students discovered she was no longer enrolled. Financial drama led to her removal and now she can no longer take part in the class. It is a terrible thing, because some of the other students in the class are far less deserving than her of the space. The fact is some people come to school to learn while some come merely for a grade. The grade seekers look at a learning opportunity as an obstacle to their ultimate goal, be it a job, degree, or what have you. The learners see an opportunity for what it is, the chance to better yourself as a person and thus become more complete and more intellectual than before.

I was not the learner when I started–not entirely. I absorbed information that pertained to the book I was writing and dismissed all else. In that respect I was much like the students I encounter daily. On the other hand, I recognized what learning for learnings sake can do for you and I really hope these students can do the same.

I learned two new things about writing and thus about myself this week. For starters, there is a real and substantive value to writing as much as you can every day. The craft, as with most physical and mental ‘muscles’ should be exercised to exhaustion in order to create growth/strength. That being said, there needs to be a period of rest in order to heal. I’ve been doing this in part (more resting than writing) and discovered that striking an appropriate balance between both is essential to my professional and literary growth.

In laymen’s terms: I gotta write more and take a day off once in a while to rest. This doesn’t apply to the 10 minute rule, but in terms of being a professional author, I need to be producing a great deal more fiction to be noticed. Production has always been my problem. It goes hand in hand with distractions. I play games the way people in the desert drink water. I survive by moving from game to game and accomplishing artificially imposed goals. The same cannot be said of my writing where I have actual deadlines, if not goals. Those are roadblocks to me whereas the artificial barriers of game are motivational tools.

I think the key to my success in the coming year is to focus on production. I need to shape the time I have in a fashion that allows me to do more with it. This shouldn’t be a problem, because, as usual, the only person standing in my way is myself.

 

I couldn’t wait until wednesday to get this off my chest: Revis Island has taken his talents to the Tampa Bay area. Yep, the best corner in football and a large part of why people still watch the Jets play has been traded. I’m angry and disappointed, but I can’t say I didn’t see it coming. I said I would stop watching the Jets if a trade went through and the Jets didn’t get absolute top value from it. I am on the fence about the value of this deal. On the one hand the Jets have an additional first rounder that can be used or traded. On the other hand, the first rounders are uninspiring choices–especially to replace the level of interest and passion Revis brought to the table.

So, what happens now? The Jets will suck. The Sanchez experiment, an utter failure by statistical standards, will continue for another year while someone like Geno Smith waits in the wings and discovers he has NO game. The smart move is to skip the QB pickup, trade both first round picks for young useful talent, future picks, and perhaps as a way to unload a few more contracts that are unpayable. This is already a lost season.

This is already a rebuilding team.

I promised to have a story done by last night but lack of sleep and overwhelming responsibilities pushed me into unconsciousness where I would rather have been writing and working through the demons of my subconscious to produce something worthwhile. Instead I failed and today I’m making up for that failure.

Even if it takes all night.