Sports, relationships, parenting, literature, education, and more. If it catches my interest that day, I’ll write about it.
Leaving for Jacksonville today. My plan is to drive about halfway and spend the night with one of my closest friends who I’ve not gotten to see nearly enough in the last few years. Hope to get to meet his daughters, too. Then, I’ll drive the rest of the way tomorrow and hopefully have the boys sometime tomorrow afternoon.
I’m gonna try to post updates from the show, so please check back over the next few days to see how it’s going.
Not too long ago, I was a news junkie. I watched it on TV, listened to it on the radio, and read about it online. I knew a lot about what was going on in the world — the scandals, the corruption, the violence. I tortured myself about the looming disaster our economy was becoming, the perpetual crisis in the Middle East, the insanity of North Korea, all of it. Then, a funny thing happened.
When my marriage fell apart, I spent a couple of months semi-homeless, and when I did get my own place, I couldn’t afford to turn on cable right away, so I went about nine months without a television, at all. I also spent most of my time in the car listening to my MP3 player through my Monster cable, and I didn’t spend much time online. I weened myself from the news.
Last night, during commercials in an episode of Law and Order Criminal Intent, I flipped over to Lou Dobbs Tonight, just to see. Within five minutes, I was miserable. The world is still spinning hopelessly to oblivion, and we are all doomed to a future of political corruption, war, and greed. And then, I had the epiphany. Ignorance really is bliss. Having not followed the news for a year and a half, I had very little to worry about outside of my own personal drama, and I was much better for it. I wasn’t sitting around beating myself up over situations I cannot change and cannot impact on any real level. Instead, I had been focusing on myself and learning to deal with my own issues that need serious attention.
So other than as a casual observer, I’m done following the news. I’m much happier without it, but if World War III erupts, will one of my friends please text me and let me know?
When I’m in the middle of a book, I always feel guilty when I take a night off from writing. Rationally, I understand that the time off helps recharge my energy levels, keeps me from getting burned out, and maintains my health, but emotionally, I feel like I’m slacking. I take pride in my work ethic. Whether it be with writing, education, or sales, I have always been a dedicated person who strives to do the best job I can possibly do. When writing a book, I am the only person who decides my weekly page goals, my deadlines, and my time off, and I become so absorbed in the project that I want to work on it every single day. Most weeks, I do only take one night off, and then, the next day I feel like I’ve let the book and my readers down.
I truly am my own worst critic and my own worst enemy. I guess if the end result is a good series of books, then it’s worth it, but the path to get there is a tough climb.
Big Owl's Tree 