Heroes, Hard Work and Happiness

The word of the week is antithesis.

Nov 11 - Be Remembered

Unlike last year, I worked on Remembrance Day today.

It felt a little odd, with so many people crowding into the store instead of attending today's ceremonies. I wondered what people would be doing 50 years from now, when even fewer members of the world's population would remember the time when war had gripped the globe and peace seem like a dream.

The lesson that those who take things for granted are often rudely disappointed by the universe is perhaps lost on the young. Which is also something that every generation has lamented for as long as humanity has humanity and refused to learn the terrible truths that war teaches.

I'm not a pacifist, nor my warmonger. I'm someone who is extraordinarily grateful for those who gave their lives long ago to ensure that my life's choice is my own and that the world was not forced along a different path towards a darker future.

I'll remember that lesson for the rest of my life.

Nov 12 - A Blue Dot

Sometimes we forget about perspective.

It takes people like Carl Sagan to make us realize just how small spaceship Earth is in relation to the cosmos - and how lucky we are to be aboard her. Listen to what he has to say:

For myself, I've always thought from a very early age that there has to be more out there. More worlds, more intelligences, just more than we can imagine with our limited perspective, despite the realms that the human imagination has conjured into being to date. I've always wanted to be one of the explorers to set foot out on another planet, far far removed from our own solar system, but I quickly understood the only way I would get there in my lifetime was to write about it.

Good thing I'm already started on my way to that dream.

Nov 13 - Libraries

I spent a lot of time reading growing up and libraries were my treasure houses - along with bookstores, of course.

Only those people who developed a love of reading will know what I'm talking about. Wandering into a row of shelves and discovering new books is still a thrill for me, albeit my pace has slowed dramatically in the last couple of years, mainly as my focus has shifted from reading to writing.

Yet many people see the library going the way of the dodo bird in the electronic age, when paper books lose out to the likes of the Amazon Kindle or the Kobo e-reader. However, I believe the opposite will be true: books will always have their place, cradled in a reader's hands alongside the more portable electronic copy of the same book. Browsing electronic shelves can never( and never will )take the place of a library.

One person who truly understands this is Neil Gaiman, who recently gave a speech on the very subject. It's powerful and contains many truths that I hadn't realized I'd known until he gave voice to them.

It's definitely worth a read.

Nov 14 - NaNoWriMo

It's now two weeks into National Novel Writing Month.

I'm not participating this year, mainly because I'm working steadily on my submission for the Dark Crystal Authorquest contest that's due in two weeks time. Across the globe, thousands of people are writing furiously, accumulating words daily towards the goal of completing a novels worth of creative output by the end of November. It's my hope that next year, I'll have completed the third draft of my novel and can participate in the crazy writer's novel creation push. It sounds like a lot of fun.

On a related note, my moustache is fairly solid now, two weeks in, for Movember in support of prostate cancer awareness. It's interesting how this particular awareness campaign has spread and grown, to the point where at work we have received boxes of mustache-shaped USB drives - which is really cute, I think although I wouldn't buy one myself as I don't need another one to lose in a drawer.

Besides, I've already grown a decent mustache of my own.

Nov 15 - Buffalo Hero

Do you know your local heroes?

They're all around us, waiting for the opportunity to act.

One such hero is Darnell Barton, a bus driver in Buffalo, NY. He was doing his daily drive when he spotted someone who needed help immediately and acted:

I think he's a wonderful example of someone who saw another human being in need and did what they had to do without driving on or taking too long to consider other action. He acted and in doing so saved the life of the woman in the video.

Now if we can only extend such heroism to everyday acts, to bring those who are downtrodden and diminished in our society back into the fullness of our community with small heroic acts from all of us.

Nov 16 - Starstruck!

I met an astronaut today!

A few weeks ago, I learned that Canadian astronaut Chris Hadfield would be signing copies of his new book "An Astronaut's Guide to Life on Earth" right here in Victoria today - and I had the day off!

Needless to say, I was extremely excited, as it's always been my boyhood dream to become an astronaut. Sadly, my mathematical skills were never strong enough to make that possible and I'm not the healthiest person in the world, so my chances of becoming one of the elite few to leave the bonds of earth were rather poor. However, my love of all things space has continued with me throughout my life to date and the notion of meeting an astronaut simply thrilled me.

As I suspected that it would prove to be quite a popular book signing, a friend and I got to the Hillside Mall five hours early to get in line. We were successful in getting one of the first 25 spots, with only a few other people ahead of us, some of whom had arrived at 6 AM - way too early, in my eyes, as this was a book signing and not a limited giveaway of some kind.

Those five hours passed fairly quickly, as the line soon grew to enormous proportions and we were quite entertained by chatting up our neighbors on all sides. Everyone was in a fantastic mood, eagerly awaiting the arrival of said astronaut; there were even a sprinkling of young air cadets, all of which had the gleam of space-struck dreams in their young eyes.

The line started moving at 2 PM and within 10 minutes I was standing in front of Chris Hadfield, shaking his hand. Did I mention he has a very impressive mustache to go along with his impressive personal presence and very firm handshake? He looked me in the eye, thanked me for waiting so long and I said it was quite a pleasure to meet him, along with some babble about proving dreams could come true. He had the grace to smile and then I stepped away to take a few pictures before moving aside to let other people have their moment too.

It was definitely worth it and I've been enjoying his book enormously. He has a very honest writing style, which perfectly fits his telling of his journey from the first days of realizing he wanted to become an astronaut to the end of the his third and final trip into space to the present day. I highly recommend it, as it's filled with wonderful insights into the human condition from a person who has met every challenge thrown at him to stand as one of the finest examples of what humans - and Canadians - can achieve when they pursue their dreams.

Nov 17 - Changes Coming

Today I struggled to remain stress-free… and succeeded.

Work has been difficult for me, in the main( as I've mentioned before ) because it's so busy and I've received only haphazard training in such a variety of areas that I'm still not confident in my skills. It's becoming apparent that in order to function properly minute to minute in such an environment, I'm going to have to invest a considerable amount of my off-work time to online training and to be quite honest, I don't feel that it's worthwhile considering the wage that I'm being paid.

However, I am finding a balance at work, in that I'm becoming more proactive in seeing problems before they arise and thinking three or four steps ahead in order to smooth things for myself. As well, I'm doing my very best to have answers ready to questions thrown my way, but it's hard when I am run off my feet every single shift.

For the last few months, I've been looking for other employment and as yet I haven't found anything that I want to take. At this point, given that any other job will pay me as much as this one, I believe it's in my own best interest to find something that is less draining of my energy so that I can devote more of it towards my creative output: writing for living.

That's my best route towards creating my own self-sufficiency, I believe. Definitely not working for far less than I'm worth and coming home too exhausted to write, mentally and physically, every day.

I've a full work-week ahead, both at my day job and writing, so I'm going to need all the energy I can get. Right now I'm getting tired well before 11pm and though I've rested it, my left wrist is still dodgy... so it's to bed early and up early, which is a change for me too. Maybe when I spend a few more years doing it, I'll be healthy, wealthy AND wise...

Dungeons, Dreams and Determination

The word of the week is confabulation.

Nov 4 -Upswing

Balance has mostly returned to my life.

By which I mean that my focus has narrowed to where things are easier for me on a daily basis. I work, I write, I deal with the small things that life throws at me and I'm not worrying about much else on purpose.

 I'm also eating much better, with numerous healthy snacks each day in addition to regular meals which I'm finding is helping balance my energy levels. Coping with work stress is always done on a day-to-day basis but stepping outside the moment helps get me some perspective on situations that might otherwise upset me.

The new year is coming up fast and I have to finish up my Dark Crystal project before I can dig back into completing the third draft of my novel. While it disappoints me that I'll have to miss my own self-imposed deadline, common sense tells me that this is the correct thing to do right now.

That and the fact that I'm sleeping better tells me it as well.

Nov 5 - Remember, Remember

Today is Guy Fawkes day, which is not so big over here in North America.

Yet the reason that the day is celebrated over in the United Kingdom is a very valid one anywhere in the world: that those who rule over us should do so in a just manner and should be removed from power if they do not. However, it should be with reason, not violence.

In a democracy, those who are not worthy of their position are voted out of office. Strangely, voter apathy has long been something that the Western world has tolerated and even encouraged, which will keep those who are not worthy of power still in their office.

We need to learn and never forget that to give away power over ourselves is to make worthless the sacrifices of those who fought and died for the freedom our society currently enjoys today.

Nov 6 - Azarkant

Modern computer technology continues to amaze me.

What was possible only a few short years ago on multimillion dollar hardware can now be done by computers that anyone can afford, albeit still on the range of thousands of dollars.

This puts incredibly low-cost technology in the hands of artists who can do wonders with it. 

One such person is the creator of Azarkant, a short CGI film who lose graphics rival that of Hollywood's best FX houses. Have a look:

Azarkant from Andrey Klimov on Vimeo.

In the future, a team of astronauts are sent on a ten year journey to a distant planet to find new life. On their way, they encounter a large, abandoned spaceship that is drifting in the orbit of a mysterious planet. They board the ship with anticipation of the great discoveries to uncover inside. However, they do not know what terrible secret this spacecraft keeps...

Nov 7 - Writing Life

You have to be observant to learn from life.

Here in my building, for example, I met two other writers. Both are at different stages of life from myself and both have taken different paths from the ones that I think I'll tread in my own journey.

One writer was formerly an actor and the books that he's written to date are more memoirs than anything else. His life was not easy and his current situation is far from ideal, yet he still perseveres in putting pen to paper to get his thoughts out for the world to see.

 The other writer in residence here is near the end of his life, having published nine books in various genres. He's lived a very full life and appears to have no regrets, being content to spend his final years living simply and occasionally enjoying the company of the grown family that he brought into being.

It's sobering and joyful at the same time to see how the lives of these two writers have worked out. My own path as a wordsmith has just begun to accelerate and I've no idea where it will end up.

I hope its place that I'll be able to say I had no regrets in reaching.

Nov 8 - Prophetic Dream?

I dreamt vividly tonight.

My dreams usually are not this intense or specific, especially ones that deal with my current life as it stands. There was obviously a lot going on in my subconscious and it manifested itself tonight in a dream that remained quite memorable after I'd woken at my usual time these days.

While I won't go into details, it was interesting to see how a 'solution' was presented by my back brain in terms of a possible future that I might have lived. Instead of living with what if's right now, my brain simply skipped ahead 10 years and showed me what had already happened and how I've moved on.

Fascinating stuff, and one more indication that my gray matter is juggling quite a few things that I'm not quite fully aware of each day. Pretty neat.

Nov 9 - Dungeon Keeper

After 15 years, it's back!

One of the most enjoyable games I've played in years, Dungeon Keeper was a fun light hearted management game where you play the role of the evil dungeon Master who is expanding his lair. It was released for the PC in 1997 and had several sequels, but nothing more for the last decade.

Now the Canadian android app store is the first to see the new Dungeon Keeper - sweet! Check it out:

It's a fun game that I've enjoyed for the last couple of days, though it's not as quick to get into as the original. The current game requires you to have a longer initial curve to get started, unless you pay real money to skip ahead of the initial levels to get the good stuff.

Since I'm cheap and don't have a lot of time right now, I'll just play it out as it comes and enjoy it for longer. I'm just tickled that it's back in a recognizable form and still just as enjoyable on my tablet and android smart phone. I'm all for bringing back simple fun games instead of fancy graphics that are over far too quickly.

Nov 10 - FireFox Fixed!

G33kdom has triumphed - I finally fixed my Firefox!

My Firefox browser has not functioned for more than 60 seconds at a time for the last year. While I'm not sure exactly what the problem was, I ended up installing a few ad blockers and other programs that allowed me to turn off various features of the browser.

Which seemed to work, as now I can use it just fine - hooray!

Firefox is my favorite browser because of its ability to be modified so easily to exactly suit my needs. I'll be digging back into all the neat little things that I can do with it in the new year, once I have a little time to go back to my customizations and update them all.

For now, I'm just really happy that the darn thing works again!

My left wrist has been bothering me for the last couple of weeks, but that's nothing new to me. It just means that I can't do much writing at all apart from using my voice and while that's frustrating I'm quite used to it by now. It does make it tricky sometimes at work however, in order not to strain my wrists any further and it makes any sort of video game time an impossibility, which saddens me.

Friends, Flipping and Forgetting

The word of the week is inestimable.

Oct 28 - Brevity

I'm cutting back on the blog's entry length for the next few months.

There's a lot for me to do and I don't have as much time as I'd like to do it in. So I'll have to find some time here and there every day and one way to do that is to spend less time writing this blog every week. Considering that not so many people are still reading the blog every week, compared to previous months or years, it's no great loss, I think.

Not to say I won't be putting entries, but as regular readers will know, I don't have a lot going on right now that's overly interesting to put in. Which means that apart from capturing a few of the more interesting thoughts gamboling through my head, I won't be saying much here until the new year.

At least.

Oct 29 - UnHappy

It's funny how sometimes you need someone else's perspective on your own life.

A friend of mine who read my blog on a regular basis sent me back a very insightful e-mail about my present state of mind. He said I'm not sad, but rather I am un-happy.

That's a very interesting thing to say, I think.

In contrast, a friend of mine posted this picture on FBook:

Right now, I know I'm not that friend. I'm quiet, introspective and live a lot in my thoughts while observing everything going on around me. When I do come out of my shell, I know my smile and energy can light up the room - I'm working towards making those two sides of myself into a whole.

Oct 30 - Forget Failure?

Friends are great: they send you links like this one.

That also relates to this link, which is all about understanding how fear failure is often worse than failure itself. Fear and worry quite often combine forces to dance hand-in-hand through my head and I have to find a way to march to a different beat.

Worrying accomplishes nothing save using energy that could be better put towards more positive things.

Have a look at both of those links, they're definitely worth taking the time to read.

Oct 31 - No Candy

Halloween was very, very quiet this year for me - same as last year.

I didn't end up going out at all and have shelved my costume until next year. Yet I really 

love this particular 'holiday' and it's grown on me even more since I was a kid. The idea of being able to take on another completely different persona by putting on a costume and going around in public among other people doing the same thing is breathtakingly refreshing.

Which is kind of like cosplay but sanctioned only once a year instead of at a convention. If I had more time and more money, I would definitely get into cosplaying, as it seems really have taken off in the last few years as more than just an odd hobby.

What I'll probably do is just compile a list of costumes that I'd like to create at some point and leave it at that. When my ship comes in, I'll be able to get right into creating a bit of my own fantasy in our shared reality - the thought really appeals to me.

Nov 1 - SIX years already?

Last year, I wrote a lot about having spent half a decade now in BC.

I won't go into any detail this year, as it would be just a little redundant and I'm sure by now some of you are sick of hearing about it. But I'm not sick of living in BC; not even close.

The climate, the people and quite a few other things all combine to make it a wonderful place to reside.

Sure, I'd love to be well into a writing career that pays all my bills and allows for comfortable lifestyle, but that's coming. I'm not planning on moving unless I have no other choice in order to make a living, which I don't want to do if it means taking somebody else's marching orders in order to get paid.

I'm at a crossroads right now: my writing has to get to the point where it's self-sustaining. Where I have the time and the energy each day to create something that will end up being worth selling as my creative work. Which I can do from anywhere in the world, when you think about it.

But I'd rather do it from right here in BC.

Nov 2 - Flip the switch

I really want to get better at my day job, but I can't spare the time.

There is the option to watch some of the hundreds of training videos that are available through the company website while at home, but I'm not convinced the end justifies the means.

Even if I watched every single video while taking copious notes, I still wouldn't be much closer towards making a better hourly wage when I was done. I'm certain that I would be better at my job, day-to-day, but there are JUST as many far more specific details that need to be learned while on the job that aren't covered in the videos.

The perfectionist in me wants to drive as far down the training road as possible, while the realist in me realizes that if I tried then the wheels would simply come off the car from the sheer amount of time and effort required - with results that aren't commensurate. Yet I still despise the idea that I'm not doing my absolute best at something... but I have other things to do that require my best.

Right now, I do my job well enough that it only generates some stress and friction every day.

That'll have to do while I focus my efforts on my writing and not on perfecting my personal performance needs for my rather paltry paycheque.

Nov 3 - All Over Again

Sunday nights used to be all about The Simpsons for me.

Not anymore. The shows been on so long that they've pretty much coverage everything that can happen to the average American family, even with all the craziness that a cartoon show can allow.

I pretty much lost interest somewhere around the 15th season, when the writing wasn't so sharp and you could see that the show was struggling to find itself a little each episode.

However, I'm pleased to say that The Simpsons has managed to raise the quality of the episodes it makes in the last few years. My favorite parts though have always been the title intro, which always finishes with the family ending up on the couch in the living room watching TV.

Tonight's episode spoofed The Hobbit rather nicely:

Sad to say, this week the show lost one of their most recognizable voice talents: Marcia Wallace, who voiced the character of Edna Crabapple and many others. She will be missed.

I'm writing this brief blog in between getting home from work and going to sleep before getting up At 6 AM to work again. Today was a very trying day and I'm going to work hard tomorrow ( on top of working hard ) to take today's difficulties in stride while enjoying the fact that I'm employed. And that I can still write with my voice, at least.