The word of the week is momentum.
April 29 - Silent Poems
A little over three months ago, I stopped writing haiku.
Nobody really noticed or said anything, which was fine really, as
I'd been writing them mainly for myself for a year to see if I could create a
new one every single day. Which I did: mission accomplished.
I gained a lot of experience in the form and really enjoyed
what I came up with on a daily basis. I wasn't trying to set a record or
anything, as there are many acknowledged masters of haiku and I'm not one of
them. While that irks me ever so slightly, I realize that it's one of those art
forms where one can spend a lifetime attempting to master it and never know if
you've succeeded or not.
 |
| Something's off with this haiku... |
For me, being able to express myself within some set limits
meant I had to work harder at eliminating excess from my words as they flowed
onto the screen. Did I mention I write exclusively on the computer? I find
writing by hand to be far too slow when trying to get my creativity going and
to have the flow etch itself onto the screen as fast as I can speak is very
liberating.
As for the haiku, they're still there inside me somewhere
and they'll be out again someday, I'm sure.
April 30 - Stalled
So far, neither of my two business projects have gotten very
far. In both cases, I simply haven't been able to dedicate the time or energy
to fleshing them out.
For my Internet business, I've run into a lack of experience
which is translated into a lack of direction as to where to take my project
next. I still think it's a great idea, but its execution has been plaguing me
and I now have to reach out to a few folks to find out what I can do to
simplify and streamline what I have to maximize my presentation. In other
words, I need to make my business idea look professional and appeal to the
clients I am trying to attract. It's far from easy and I really am at a loss in
this aspect.
Frustratingly, my other business that has to do with a
bicycle accessory already has a prototype, but I am again running into a lack
of experience regarding how to market it. Not to mention reaching out to
manufacturers to try to get quotes so as to get a realistic picture of the cost
of the product - from there I'll be able to work out profit/loss ratios based
on cost per unit and so forth. Another great idea that's the come mired in the
details, so to speak.
I haven't given up on either idea, but for now they're both
on standby. Sadly.
May 1 - Spring is in the air
It's a new month and change is upon us.
I'm really excited for this summer season, which will be
over all too soon as they always are.
The longer daylight hours lend their
energy to me, giving my subconscious the crazy idea that I can get more done
today - who wouldn't want that?
I think it's the energy that I'm looking forward to the
most, being able look out the window and see that it's not yet dark and that I
still on some level have the wherewithal to keep working of a day. I certainly
have a lot to keep me occupied outside of my day job, so much so that all need
to focus as well as to be sure that I take the time to enjoy myself this
season. Last summer I spent most of my time inside of a day pulling my novel out of the ether to spend
it into being one word at a time.
This year, I want to be able to put down my virtual pen and
get outside to play.
May 2 - A leg up?
My legs seem to have mostly recovered from my abortive
attempt at running earlier this spring.
However, my right leg still seems to be giving me trouble: specifically
the tendon over my knee is still quite painful and I can't kneel on it even on
soft surfaces. I've talked to my doctor about this and he has recommended that
I seek an alternate treatment such as acupuncture as we both feel that
medicating it isn't the right solution.
I have to wonder if it's perhaps being exacerbated by my
rides to work on my cycle, as I push down with a fair degree of force in order
to turn the wheels as I pedal. Perhaps? I don't know but I'm going to see what
I can find Out with a little observation and perhaps then seek the counsel of a
sports therapist through my doctor. I definitely can't continue to much longer
without finding a solution, as constantly babying my leg in order not to
aggravate the tendon will really limit me doing much of anything outside this
summer.
Which would be a bummer.
May 3 - Netflix!
After waiting and waiting, we finally jumped aboard Netflix
this month.
Mainly because the fourth season of Arrested Development is
going to be released exclusively on Netflix at the end of May. I purposely kept
myself away from finding out anything regarding the premise of the series
continuation so I can see a completely fresh and just enjoy the heck out of it.
While I was exploring what Netflix had to offer tonight, I
have to say I did find a few things that I'd like to see. TV series such as the
most recent season of Futurama and Transformers: Prime caught my eye, as well
as movies like Inglorious Basterds and Prometheus. There's a fair bit of content
on there that I'd like to see, though again the movie library seems a little
light given all that's out there and available.
But that's just going to be for when I'm relaxing; I'm
certainly not going to watch episodes of any show back-to-back instead of doing
things that really matter in my life. Netflix, like the rest of my media
collection, has to take a back seat this year and settle for simply
entertaining me when needed instead of functioning as a time filler, an idea
that is more and more abhorrent to me these days.
May 4 - Star Wars Day!
Okay, okay, I know I said this last year but is still bears
repeating:
May the Fourth be with you!
I've really grown to like Star Wars day, as it's really
taken on a mein of geek celebration. Sort of like an unofficial geek holiday
every year where people can express their unabashed love of whatever geeky
thing that is close to their heart. For example, one of the managers today said
they were a closet Star Wars geek and probably wouldn't have disclosed that
little tidbit on any other day of the year, which made me smile. Wil Wheaton had something to say about being a geek that was quite inspired:
Star Wars is such a huge part of today's cultural landscape
that I could go on quite at length about it - but I won't, because you probably
know that already. Countless variations of memes circulate on the Internet
daily, along with new Star Wars content including the upcoming movies from
Disney and the endless line of books From the Extended Universe that I admit
I'm not all that familiar with. You never know though, when some rare pictures of the original movie shoots may show up...
All the same, I think every May the Fourth is going to have
a special celebration of some kind if I have anything to do with it. We'll see
what I can cook up for next year!
May 5 - Temperature
The warm weather is finally here!
Temperatures here on Vancouver Island have risen
precipitously from the low teens into the high teens and with them the Sun has
truly become warm. This past Friday, I sat out on the patio at Moka House,
sipping a tea and soaking in the rays. In no time at all, I was sweating, even
wearing shorts and sandals - for the first time this year. It was great!
Right now as I write this blog, the temperature outside is
18°C, quite a lot higher than the low 4° only a week ago that I could feel even
through the closed curtains of my room. The apartment I'm in is half in the
ground, which helps to moderate its temperature as I've mentioned before. Being
on the North side of the building also means it's not exposed to direct sunlight
for most of the day, so even should we a unusually warm summer this year are
placed will remain quite comfortable.
Summer will be great this year, as I'll be diving into
finishing up my novel's third draft. It will be a repeat of last year in a way,
in that I will be drafting lines and revising while the sun hangs high in the
sky. There's going to be a lot to do in the next six months and I'm really
looking forward to it.
I have four days off this coming week - four. I plan on spending most of my time finishing my online training for Staples, as I'm no longer beating my head against the brick wall of SQL, so that will be good. Apart from that, I have a birthday party to attend, a friend to train in tech, a novel to keep working on, a few side projects to dig into, and some good weather to enjoy. A busy week for only working one weekday of five!
