Category Archives: What’s going on

Today is my Monday, though yesterday was no day of rest.

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I’m completely wiped. I get done on Mondays at 9pm plus car trip back plus last minute errands plus weary brain-dead forgetfulness of errand details (milk) plus learning the second store to make up for forgetfulness is closed by 10pm.

But I got home with milk and martini cocktail mix and we finally put the vodka in the house to use. And fell asleep while watching a TV show (just one) before bed.

Here is more about our rather interesting day of firsts.

And I never got a chance to mention that Dad’s third chapter is published.

The Bridge to Terabithia

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Calvin: Stunk!

Nevin: The movie stunk!

Calvin: He never even got to defeat the Dark Master.

Me: Well, he couldn’t Calvin.

Calvin: Why not?

Me: Because the Dark Master was death.

Calvin: So? What about Harry Potter? “The last enemy to be destroyed is death.”

Me: But in Harry Potter they never beat death. The whole point was to admit that they couldn’t yet?

Calvin: But he will be defeated eventually! Why not show that?

Me: Because then the story would have to be about the end of the world.

Calvin: But the story was pointless! It gets an F.

Nevin: Yes! An F-F-F…. (begins singing and dancing as he says the letter grade for the movie over and over.)

Counting down/day 29: I need a new alarm clock

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My phone goes off for a minute (I think) and then gives up forever. If I sleep through that minute there is nothing left.

So I didn’t get up till six and I almost went back to sleep then. Only the shame of having to write this down in my logbook kicked me into gear. I listened to a godpodcast (no. 16) and then used the treadmill for half an hour. This time I was in shorts and sneakers and went a little bit faster because it was more comfortable to do so than not.

Frankly, if I had the startup capital and connections, this would be a great time to offer super alarm clocks with gtd usability at some website. I’m surprised no one is doing so.

Today’s scribblings

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Thanks to meeting my goal regarding wake-up time, I now feel cranky and uncreative. Getting started on my Ephesians commentary today seems impossible.

I walked so so slow for thirty minutes that I am embarrassed to even mention I did it at all. But I’m going to stick with my assumption that if I nail down the practice as something I do every day I can improve on it later.

It occurs to me I could take some of my stuff on Ephesians and try to get it publshed through a reputable (make that paying) publication of some sort. But I think I would have to edit and rearrange and reread so much that I wouldn’t really save any time. I wouldn’t really be “re-using” the same material. I would be better off to come up with something new.

Earlier this year I bought the Writer’s Market and I have not yet used it. It is much more profitable to find people who will contract you to write rather than produce a work to submit in the hopes of making a few cents a word. All my best work has been done when someone asked for something specific. I have new writing ideas all the time, but I’m too risk-adverse to invest in them on the basis of a mere hope they will be published (and paid for).

My Dad was able to write a hefty novel in his spare time simply because he liked the characters. I have some idea how he did it–I can relate to the joy of creation–but at this stage in my life that kind of accomplishment is simply out of my reach.

Obviously, I’m too tired right now to do a proper blog entry. I started one, but it will have to be finished some other time.

New goals: a 30-day experiment in productive habits

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I mentioned here that I needed to reset my goals, using a favorite web widget, after being gone on a trip.

Well, ironically, I have procrastinated.

This post has awakened me:

I just successfully finished a new 30-day program that involved 4 habits. Here is what I implemented:

1) Get up at 5am every single day, even though my job didn’t start until 8am. Do this even on weekends.
2) Walk 30 minutes every single day.
3) Listen to 30 minutes of an inspirational/educational audio book every single day.
4) Avoid all general news website – sites like news.yahoo.com, CNN.com, digg.com, lewrockwell.com, worldnetdaily.com, etc. I previously was spending several hours a day (mostly at work) reading through those sites. Instead, I would direct my time and attention to read sites like businessweek.com, slashdot, and this forum. These sites are much more positive and would provide a way to help avoid general news sites. This is in addition to not watching TV news, a habit I previously conquered through a 30-day trial.

OK, obviously, I am going to tweak this. I’ll include great Bible teaching/theology (though I’ll probably also do some secular success material as well). Also, I’m going cold turkey in eliminating any lurking on inquisatorial Pharisee blogs and “magazines” rather than “news” sites.

It is very tempting to add more exercise and other things. But I’m going to resist the temptation. The problem is that adding too many great goals means that you don’t actually meet any of them. I begin tomorrow and, in thirty days, I will analyze the results and then begin some new goals if I think that would be wise and helpful (prime candidates will be exercise, time with family, and reading).

So, I have restarted by goals with the three positive (5am wake-up, 30 minutes walking, 30 minutes listening) and one negative (no lurking in Hell).

And, anyone who wants, can watch my progress here.