Posts – page 71 of 74

Consciously or not, I’ve found myself drawn to a number of lifestyle design blogs over the past few weeks. They’re filled with stories about individuals actively pursuing unconventional ways of thinking and living.

Part of this desire may stem from feeling that my life is becoming to ordinary, too formulaic. I want something drastic, something radical to break up the mundane. There shouldn’t be anything ordinary about life.

(The following is from my 2005 book of poetry, Ordinary Time, which provided the inspiration for the title of this blog. I will be republishing the poems here over the next several weeks in their original order)

Remember Memory

The water, turning over on itself, the shifting of a formless mass, swirling in and against itself, and refusing

There seems to be no shortage of encouragement available if you look for it hard enough.

However, words from other can be, at times, in short supply. This can lead to one desperately fishing for encouragement from friends and family, which can cheapen what is caught.

I understand I have a lot of work to do to become the writer I want to be. Words and pages are not enough. Although, that would be a good start. No, thoughts and well expressed ideas are what I’m after. I am not sure that I am prepared to think like a writer. I know I don’t have the habits developed yet. One step at a time, I know. But I have in mind what I want to be: I want to be able to sit quietly and think to myself about my subject and then open up a blank document and write what I think.

I have a problem with unfinished business.

I had some issues with my computer a few weeks ago. It was late but instead of letting it go, calling it a night and saving the trouble shooting until morning, I felt an uncontrollable urge to fix the problem. Nothing could distract me from my desire to fix the problem and make things right again.

I can see how this trait could be harmful. Stubbornness can easily distract me from what may really be important.

(The following is from my 2005 book of poetry, Ordinary Time, which provided the inspiration for the title of this blog. I will be republishing the poems here over the next several weeks in their original order)

A World of Mind’s Creation

A world of mind’s creation stands unhindered in a darkened sleep, while night hours fall to morning, and dawn gives breath to day, but first, the cloud must hover upon the veiled mystery of dreams.

I just struggled through my pushup routine. Over the past few weeks of preparations for my 5k run, I have completely neglected all of the muscles in my upper body and today it showed. However, I’m preparing to turn that around.

A few months ago I had printed off Steve Speirs’ Hundred Pushups Training Program and started working on the routine. I got through the first few weeks of the program without too much trouble, but near the end of the third week I began to realize my weaknesses.

88 Examples of Incredible Aerial Photography

A participant in the annual Rubik Cube Hungarian Open Championships solves nine 3x3 cubes blindfolded after memorizing all of them in Budapest, Hungary, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2009.(AP Photo/Bela Szandelszky) (via Rubik’s Cube Hungarian Open Championships - Yahoo! News Photos)

Perception

I want to start getting up at six. I did it this morning, but I want to do it every morning.

The conventional wisdom says that baby steps are the best. Break down your big goal into manageable action items. Forget it. Radical change has to be more like ripping off a band-aid.

However, keep it to one big change at a time, or you may go into shock.

10 Revealing Infographics about the Web

Kramer’s Entrance (via tylercreviston

)

So, I ended up doing much better than I expected in my 5k run on Thursday. I was so nervous going into it. I’m not sure why, but I think it was because I haven’t engaged in any competition at all this year, and also because I was convinced that I would embarrass myself in front of my co-workers, who were all expecting fantastic times.

As it turned out, I came in first at my company, and 20th out of 150 some men. It was quite a shock to me, but in the process I learned a lot about myself and my body.

Storm Trooper: Singing in the Rain

(The following is from my 2005 book of poetry, Ordinary Time, which provided the inspiration for the title of this blog. I will be republishing the poems here over the next several weeks in their original order)

Care for the Dead _

To sense the life

My struggle is the beginning, middle, and end. I have a hard time coming up with what I’m going to write about. Once I’ve figured that part out, I have a hard time putting my thoughts into words. And after I have something down on paper, I have a difficult time accepting that what I have written is of any value.

However, this is my only obstacle to becoming a writer. It doesn’t take as much time as I once thought because, it seems, no one is out there trying to write the next Moby Dick. It no longer takes 1,000 pages to tell a story or to make a philosophical point about the human condition. I don’t know that it ever did, but the way most readers consume information now has changed, and writing has had to change to keep up.

Fresh Pics: Free-Falling Art Of Li Wei

Greg Mankiw’s Blog: First-Year Grad Student Wins Nobel Prize in Economics!