How can I keep my blogship if I don't update regularly?

There is no consistency in my outlook. This blog reflects that fact. Big gaps where nothing appears then a rash of entries. I could always put a little crap entry in to show I’m still alive. I always pull back from doing that, I respect you all too much to just put in filler.

I was feeling really shitty for a big chunk of last week so I didn’t post anything. It’s too easy to complain about life. It is a crap thing to do because, really stuff is good in the world (and the bad things need to be there too). You see I still have this idea that life can be interesting and that amazing things are out there if you only look. The trouble with thinking that everything is boring and pointless is that you miss the good stuff. You have to keep your eyes open and just get out there. I was reading the other day about some sociological experiments that this guy did to find out about luck. His theory was that you can make your own luck. Lucky people keep their eyes open and take the opportunities that they see. Unlucky people don’t look around them and don’t even see the opportunities that are there.

If I had of focused on the negative and stayed in a rut then I would have had a run of bad luck…why, because when you think everything is crap you don’t look out at the world. When something good happens you ignore it. You keep looking inwards. Things happen and you turn them down because you don’t feel like doing anything. I’m not saying that positive thinking can let you walk into the casino and come out with piles of cash. The law of averages still applies but in general life you can tilt things your way.

I'm going to post a few pictures of my home town over the coming weeks. Everyone can see the glory that is Briz Vegas. Until then relax and have a couple of beers for me.

Daily Stars

LEO - Daily horoscope

You're in a very daring and experimental mood. You're able to say what you're thinking without any editing, but you say it with so much charm that people are delighted to hear what's on your mind. Use this to your advantage.
+++++
I read my starts every day on the net but I don't know how far I believe in it. It does make me think.

With any luck I'll be squeezing out a big entry later on today. I signed up for a harmonica course.... wohoo I can't wait till it starts. The weekend was a test for my non-smoking, not getting drunk plan. It's been two weeks so far and this was the first time I seriously considered back sliding into the realms of drinking and smoking. I think there is some mental attachment between smoking, drinking, fun and sex. Given my past history that makes sense. The trick is to not get bored at home. The trouble is most of my good friends are working nights and weekends at the moment.

Tags: life

Harmonica

I've signed up for a Harmonica course. 8 weeks of two hour sesions. I can't wait for it to start.

In my book the harmonica has to be the best all round instrument.
* it sounds good on it's own
* Everyone has a guitar but few play the harmonica
* a guitar and a harmonica sound great together
* You can put it in your pocket and carry it everywhere (being a pack rat I love this aspect)
* even if you know nothing about playing a harmonica you can make some melodic noises with it
* it has a great bluesy sound, ideal for slow sunday afternoons.

Having said all this I can only make melodic noises with it at the moment. Give me a few months and hopefully I can make it sing.

Tags: life

Silly Post Day

Life

Life is a shopping bag that checks your spelling, is laced with vodka and glows with an eerie green light.

Some trivia stuff about me

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Doo!

1. Influenza got its name because people believed the disease was caused by the evil "influence" of Doo.
2. Julius Caesar wore a laurel wreath to cover up Doo.
3. If you toss Doo 10000 times, he will not land heads 5000 times, but more like 4950, because his head weighs more and thus ends up on the bottom!
4. It takes 17 muscles to smile, and 43 to frown at Doo.
5. There is no lead in a lead pencil - it is simply a stick of graphite mixed with Doo and water!
6. Doo can sleep with one eye open.
7. Doo can eat up to four kilograms of insects in a single night.
8. If you cut Doo in half and count the number of seeds inside, you will know how many children you are going to have.
9. Doo was named after Doo the taxi driver in Frank Capra's 'It's a Wonderful Life'.
10. Doo has three eyelids.

Tags: life

Tags: blog

del.icio.us Tags: life

Sacrasm is wasted on me

I was talking to my brother in law the other day and he said something to me that I though was a bit off tap. We got to talking about it and I discovered that I just don't get sacrasm. All this time people were saying things to me and I was acting like they were being serious.

Suddenly all those weird little moment that had occured between me and the people around me made sense. No one expected me to take them seriously. It was a relevation. I told my wife about my blind spot and she replied that it explained alot (was she being sarcastic?).

In Australia sarcasm is a way of life, how I got this far is anyones guess.

Tags: life

Why can't blogger have categories?

I've just spent the last two hours trying a number of different methods to get categories to appear on my blog. I'm hoping the three people who read this blog will forgive me if I just wait for blogger to make it easy for non-scripty people like me to use.

I found a ton of information on different ways to do it. The trouble is none of it worked for me.

In short fuck it... no categories for you today. I'll have another go later.

Tags: blogging

Tags: life

Blog Blank

• Twice in two days I've had these great ideas for blog entries.
• Twice I failed to write them down.
• This is the second time that you don't get to read them.

I'm hoping that they will just magically reappear in my mind, but I think they may have run off into the forest together. Deep in the forest all my escaped thoughts are having a party together... dirty little bastards. I have a little black note book now. It's a cage for keeping my thoughts in until they make it to the zoo. Where I can put them under glass for the world to see.

Tags: blogging

Afternoon posts are the worst - really I'm not crazy

The best thing I can do for the world is to sit down and chill out. Sometimes I take stuff way too seriously. Had a great chat with the little woman last night. It cleared the air a bit and now I can start breathing again. After a few years you need rearrange things a bit to keep stuff interesting. Even now... 7 years after we got together, I still learn new things about her (this doesn't happen every day). I like the fact she can still surprise me. She did tell me I need to lose some weight around the middle :-(

Bye bye to beer for the next few weeks (assuming I hold out that long).

I've got to learn to stop thinking about what other people are doing and just get on with my own shit. I keep acting like life is some sort of competition then get all moody. Then I try and get profound on the blog which just makes for really boring entries (like this one).

My blog self has moved on from just the fun stuff to trying to work out what the fuck I want to do with my life. I want to be obsessed with something. I have a friend that spins records for fun. He has a whole room packed with records in crates. When he is playing his music he just lights up and savours ever note. He doesn't have much but happiness and a shit load of records. Fromt he outside it looks like a great way to live. I'm a geneneralist. I need to get seriously into something. I want to think about it nonstop and get all the little things that go with bing into this thing so much my eyes are blind to the rest of the world. Although that sounds a little like mental illness.

My final word to myself - chill the fuck out and just do stuff when you want to, it's not that hard really.

It's a shame the gallery has closed down now. That was cool fun while it lasted.

These playing cards from retroraunch are pretty cool

tell me anything

There needs to be a badge that people can wear that says something along the lines of "you can tell me or ask me anything and I won't think you're weird". I love hearing about the freaky things people have done or think. I love talking about all the shit you are not suppose to talk about in polite society. I think that this is part of my attraction to blogs. Some people just let their shit hang out for everyone to see. It would rock to be able to ask strangers anything. The down side is people would stop wearing the badges because they would get sick of attracting all the freaks.

I saw a weird couple argument the other day. This young guy and a girl were walking out of a bar. They stopped and talked to this old guy that was walking in. They all had a conversation out the front of the bar then the girl walked in with the old guy, but she was crying while she walked in. The girl and the old guy sat inside drinking a beer while the young guy sat outside looking really pissed off. The girl got up and walked outside and had an animated conversation with the guy outside for ten minutes. No lovie dove contact or anthing just really insistant focused converstaion where she did all the talking. She seemed to be referring to her body a bit during the conversation eg; pointing at her boobs (which were very nice by the way), arranging her hair, pointing out her hips. Then she went back inside the bar to the old guy.

Unfortunately we had to leave at that point. It would have been good to find out what was going on.

Ever get the feeling I'm trying to say something but never quite get it out?

Holidays are done

So I'm back to it. Holidays are done and I've just looked at the old blog. It looks so 2005. No color no flash and bang going on. I've got to update my web skills and make it the sort of place i would want to visit. At the moment it is an uninspired mess.

I'm still grappling with the issue of disclosure. I thought about starting a fresh green field to write in. A new blog… one where the parts of myself that never get to see the sun can wander around. That way I could literally put down some of the darker thoughts that cross my tiny brain. The short version is that I don't feel like I can disclose all of the crazy shit that goes on in my brain

I gave my wife my nano novel to read. After a few pages in she said that she can't help but feel that the main character is me and the wife is her. i took the book off her. If she thinks that everything the main character says and does is me (rather than an imaginary construct of me) then shit would start to fly. I express things that reflect how I feel in some way, but the circumstances and events around it are different.

The difference between reality and fantasy exists for a reason. Fantasy can be dark and have serious negative repercussions. I think about things I would never do. It just so happens that I think about things that I would do as well, so the line kind of blurs a little. Some things are just mutually exclusive. Some people grasp this concept really well and others don't.

There are approximately 10 other things I should be doing at this point in time. The trouble is I'm in the mood to get the blog flow started again. I've go to develop my own template. This one looks really boring.

Anyway enjoy the kitten at the top of the page ;-)

Tags: blog

Tags: blogging

Holidays

Three weeks off work, one week down.

skirting around the issue

I've turned down a few free drinks and eats over the last week. This is not like me at all. I have a reputation for being able to find a free beer tab (and making the most of it). It's not that I'm lacking Chrissy cheer (although that has never been my strong point) it's more that drinking heaps around work colleagues is not good for me. It's only a matter of time before I cross the line and push my luck too far.

I keep wanting to squeeze all the life out of life. The trouble is most of the impulses I have are counter productive to long term happiness. At the moment I want to sell everything and go over seas and explore the world. Instead I'll be doing the home renovations. What I really need is to make a save point in my life so I can make a decision, see where it goes then reload at an earlier point if it isn't what I want to do. The older I get the more chicken I get. I'm way more confident in general but I tend to play it really safe. At some point I'm just going to bust out in a big way. It could be this holidays (although I tend to chill out a lot more when I'm not at work). It's building tho. Not sure when or where but I'm just going to go crazy on something. The holidays will probably be the time.

We got to go for a walk through a rain forest on the weekend. Nature is amazing. I think most of people's disatisfaction with life stems from being diconeccted from nature. Most of the hippies I know are really happy, they always make time to get back to nature. The more unhappy people are the less they seem to vibe on nature (or they do vibe on nature but just nver get to see it). After a few hours int he forest I lost the edge that I had be carrying for the last week. It just went away.

My year long struggle with Victory blinds (useless barstards) is over. We have our blinds and got $420 off the price. It caused us all manner of stress and suddenly the stress has gone. Rock and roll!

Tags: blogging

Tags: life

I can do anything in the morning

There is magic if you don't try and look too hard. the magic is in the flow of chemicals. I am awash on a sea of chemicals, the mornings are good, the afternoons are not, then the evenings are what they turn out to be. Each night of sleep erases the feelings fromthe day before. The morning is full of hope and optimism. I can do anything in the morning.

Great day

My motivation levels are soaring. At the moment I'm in a stream of energy and the universe looks great. Everything is as it should be and I'm excited to be here. I've had some great talks about writing over the weekend with some friends (although there was little writing done). I think talking about it is more fun than actually doing it (except for those moments where you turn out something that is really good).

This river of good feelling is like a tap that gets switched off and on. Give me a day or two and the world will look yellow and dry. The people will be mean and I will be bored. After I get bored i will start to drink, then I'll feel bad about myself, then I'll decide to straighten out, then the Universe will become all bright and sparkely.

I've started to count down to holidays. Two weeks and I will be off for three weeks. Already I can feel the excitement and joy that comes from having heaps of your own time to do with as you please. More diving, more hammock time and just more of me space.

My wise words for today;
Follow your biological necessities, don't think about things too much and it's all OK. Too much thought is the enemy of happiness, that's why meditation is so good for you. It's nice driving around in a body that has a default setting for happiness, it sucks we live in a society that seems to try and do everything it can to make you unhappy.

Naked people make me happy!

Tags: life

There has been dust gathering on my blog

I tried to get my 50K words done in the three weeks that I had available but I failed in my mission. It seems as soon as I set myself a goal then all manner of time sucking things latch onto my back. I could give you the list but that would just sound like excuses (does this sound like an excuse?). I could have gotten it done if I pulled some all nighters but that would have fucked with my head.

The good thing is, the experience has gotten me hot to keep writing this particular book. I’ve extend my personal 50k goal out until the end of December.

I’ve been thinking a lot about the nature of long term relationships (which happens to be the topic of the novel) particularly how to have a successful one. The trouble is you usually need a severe kick to the head to get you moving. I’ve come to the conclusion that it has more to do with how you feel about yourself than it does about the other person in the relationship. If you both sort your own shit out, things just seem to flow a bit better. This is the list I have come up with to make my life a better one.

1. I’m happiest when I have my own little creative side projects – but only when I don’t give a shit about quality. If I care about quality then I start to feel pressure.

2. you need to keep accepting opportunities as they come up, it’s way too easy to stay in your comfort zone all the time. Do you want your life to be exactly like it is now…. Right up until the day you die?

3. If you don’t live a little, your relationship will die. No fun, no point

4. There is more to life than work and television. Run around like a mad thing if that is what floats your boat.

5. Just chill out some of the time, you don’t need to be doing stuff in every spare minute. To really do nothing is harder than you think.

6. You don’t need to think about things so much. Ahhhhh I’m thinking too much about this, but I’m doing it for fun so it is OK (see number 5).

7. Do things that society doesn’t accept – live on the edge, make crap art, make up stories about yourself, tell the truth when you think you shouldn’t, break something or blog about your imaginary life.

8. Try something, even though you know you will fail at it

9. make up a list like you know what you are talking about, it makes you feel life you have some sort of control ;-)

10. Don’t compare with others, sometimes it may look all shiny on the outside but be rotten to the core.

When I talk about creativity here I mean something you are interested in that makes you think, it could be anything, not just some ‘accepted art’.

That’s enough for now. I need to ease you all back into my life.

Tags: writing

Tags: blogging

Tags: nanowrimo

8 days to go and I really really don't think I'll make it

Nanomo 2005 will not be my year to get the 50 000 words out. At this rate I would need to spend five hours a day each day until the end of the month. Four of those days are complete wash outs so that means ten hours a day.

This is not good maths.

Unfortuantely there have been way too many interruptions. For some reason three business trips have fallen in the month of November. I had a trip away for my wife's birthday (which was great) and work has been way to busy to sneak in even the smallest amount of writing during the day (which is bad, very bad). This has not been my typical life. Normally I have way less stuff to do in any given week.

I'm going to keep on after November with the book because I still have heaps of ideas and absolutely no block in sight, just bugger all time to write in. I will complete this book! I was tempted to submit some other stuff I wrote (for a few seconds), but that is only lying to myself and defeats the purpose of having a goal. I'll sign up again next year

Procrastination

Some tips for procrastinators trying to write something;
1. Update your blog
2. Buy some beer to get the creative juices flowing (this works really well)
3. Accept every invitation that comes your way, you need more creative input
4. Do research on the internet at every opportunity
5. reply to your emails
6. make up stupid lists to publish on your blog
7. go shopping, a lot
8. Meditate, you need to clear your head

Stay tune for more tips when I get sick of writing next time

Tags: nanowrimo

Tags: writing

del.icio.us Tags: nanowrimo

Nanomo update #4

All the advice I've read on how to blog says to keep your updates regular. Unfortunately I won’t be regular for the next few weeks. My Nanmo is really falling behind. Work has intruded the most but I also wasted Sunday as a possible day for writing. I seem to work best when under the gun so I could just look at these setbacks as motivation. It will be interesting to see if I can write the remaining 40k words in 13 days. I’m not sure if I’m going to make it but I will be trying really hard to get it done. I had a work “retreat” on Monday and Tuesday, it’s my wife’s birthday this weekend and then another retreat the following week. At this rate I might not reach the golden word limit

The other interesting thing is that someone wants to interview me about the tarot card suggestion for plot help for writing. It should be fun because I have never been interviewed before. It isn’t an original method but I have found that it is a good one.

At this exact point in time I’m sitting in the meeting and all I can think about is I need to write and that my undies are too tight. It is hard to participate in a meeting when your undies are too tight.

Tags: nanowrimo

Tags: writing

del.icio.us Tags: nanowrimo

Nanowrimo update 3

I’m getting into the naomo swing of things. Each night I have been sitting down and churning out 1500 words. Unfortunately I need to be churning out around 2500 words. I’m hoping that this weekend I’ll be able to get out 5000 a day to make up for the lack of wordage during the week. Now that I’m into the zone of just getting words down with out the constant revisiting and reediting of paragraphs it is easy to make progress. Having an external deadline is a good way to get motivated. It feels good to be getting something down on paper/screen. I'm loving the focus and the sense of urgency that I'm feeling.


The main draw back is I have some work interrupts going on a few nights over the next couple of weeks. There is a gallery opening tonight with some comic based artworks. It should be good but it is another night where no writing will be taking place.

Any spare writing time is going into nanomo so the blog will probably thin out over the next few weeks. Eventually there might be some excerpts featuring here.... content is content.

Tags: writing

Tags: nanowrimo

del.icio.us Tags: nanowrimo