Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Gone toobin

Now this is how you chill out midweek!


Monday, January 9, 2012

Back In The Game

I've been dreaming of the day I could write this post for years. The only obstacle, really, was me and my own insecurities and insatiable need to procrastinate. Or was it fear? In any case, here goes: I'm back in school! This Saturday we spent several hours at the local Community College getting myself enrolled and set up to start classes on Tuesday.

I'm stunned that it's been 14 years since I last stepped into a classroom. Where did all that time go? I'm not going to sit here and wallow in regret that I didn't do it sooner because honestly, I couldn't have...and wouldn't have.

When I left school I was pretty well done with it. In my own misguided mindset, I'd decided that I didn't need it. I would power ahead and forge my own way in the world. One year rolled into another and that into another and before I knew it I was married with two children and making about the same amount of money I have been for the past decade. I've moved from field to field in search of greener pastures, and while I've occasionally found them, the green is always a little more brown than it first appears.

It took me a while, but I finally managed to come around to my senses and get myself back into school so I can finish my degree and do something with myself. I'm not shooting for the most glamorous or high-paying career in the world. I just want something stable that I can be proud of. A real career instead of just a job. And more importantly...most importantly, I've chosen to do something I really want to do.

I'm going to follow my dream and be a history teacher. I've always had an intense love of history and a desire to not only know more about it, but to also understand how it impacts the here and now. I want to be able to share that love; to possibly be the catalyst that changes someone's life for the better. I want to take a shot at being able to help others see the connections to our past that so many people so often overlook. Our history is who we are. Without it, we have no identity, just like without the past 14 years of my life, I'd never have realized where I need to go in the future; and getting to the future requires me to work as hard as I can in the present.

College, I'm back.

What once was will be again

Dystopia Diaries: The Leak That Made America

Sometimes we need a reminder that the world never really changes; it just gets a new cast.

Sunday, January 1, 2012

Countdown To The Apocalypse

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Actually, I don’t believe in any of that apocalyptic end of the world 2012 crap.  Call me what you will, there’s an apocalypse survivor’s club party at my house on the 22nd of December this year.

Crazies like this asswipe will not be welcomed nor are they invited.

There’s a lot I want to get accomplished this year, not the least of which is try to discipline myself to keep this blog going.  I really dropped the ball on it last year, and I think that even though nobody really reads it, I should still try to train myself to come here and post regularly if for no reason other than to get the writing practice, and maybe to vent a little from time to time.

I’m going to get myself back in school (part of this task is already complete) and try to get our family into a more tenable financial position this year.

I also know everyone and their brother swear to try to get themselves more in shape and lost some weight every new year, but I actually mean it.  As I stare down the cocked and loaded barrel of my 35th year on this planet I’ve come to realize that I’d like to be around at least another 35 more, and I’d like to be healthier than I am now, all of which means I need to stop eating garbage, lay off the soda, and actually put some effort into this.  A few years ago I was driven to lose weight and I managed to lose 35 pounds in a month.  Probably not the healthiest overall thing I’ve ever done but it proved a point, and that point is that it can be done.  And as much of a struggle as it was, it taught me that like any other struggle, with effort there WILL be results.  The key here is effort.  This is the key to all of the goals I’ve laid out this year and to others I’ve not yet mentioned.  Unlike years past, I resolve but one thing: to exert the effort this year to realize as many of my past resolutions as I can.

A few other things I want to do this year:

  • Finally write my novel.
  • Get back into photography.
  • Start the podcast I’ve been thinking of forever.
  • Read more.

Just as I’m going to say on the morning of December 22nd when aliens don’t invade, Planet X doesn’t show up, and the Earth doesn’t descend into Armageddon: Let’s get this party started!