I think I might need to take another look at The Artist’s Way. Sam got me a copy of it several years ago, but the touchy-feely aspects of the book really turned me off and I put it down.  I don’t even know where my copy is.  Krystalle picked up a copy of it for herself a few weeks ago, and while she was just as put off by those aspects as I was she has been working with the program and it seems to be making a big difference for her.

I need to do something, though. I feel like I’m out of touch with my writing.  I’ve gotten used to communicating via 140 character messages on Twitter and I seem to lose cohesion on my longer posts very quickly.  Yesterday, for example, I started writing a piece on super hero archetypes as leaders and why Bush, who could be compared to Batman, failed.  It started out strongly enough but I just kinda fizzled out and ended up saving it to a text file on my desktop.  I may or may not pick it back up again at some point.

This writing malaise is especially bad considering the fact that I have a super-secret project launching very soon with a few of my friends that is going to require me to write on a regular basis.

So I’m going to try to pledge yet again to write here more often.  I’ve said that before, I know.  But this time, by God, I mean it!

My days of telecommuting are pretty much over.  It was fun while it lasted, but now that we’re located at the main headquarters instead of isolated at the operations center it’s more important that I’m here and accessible for face-to-face contact.  It’s not so bad, though.  In fact, in many ways, I’m enjoying it.  We have a great little gym here on site that I’ve been taking advantage of, and it’s nice to actually see the people I work with for a change.  It’s helping me eat a little better and I’m not smoking as much during the day as I do when I’m at home (mainly because I’m using the stairs and we’re on the fourth floor.  Having to walk up four flights of stairs after you smoke is a bit of a deterrent).

The biggest disadvantage to my new work arrangement is that I can’t stay up as late playing World of Warcraft.  But, you know what?  That’s ok, too.  My play time in WoW has dropped pretty starkly as of late, and I’m not too upset about that.  I’ve taken a step back and looked at the amount of time I’ve put into the game over the last four years, and I realize there is a lot I could have done with it.  Don’t get me wrong – I don’t regret the time I’ve spent in Azeroth, largely because I’ve made some absolutely amazing friends while there (some of whom are coming to visit us this weekend), but it has definitely put a cramp on some things that were GOOD in my life, too.  My health is one of them.  Before I started playing MMO’s I was going to bed around 9PM at night and getting up to exercise before going to work.  It really wasn’t until I got sucked into Everquest that my schedule started to change in that regard.  I’m a LOT more reluctant to spontaneously go out these days, and to be perfectly honest there are things I could be doing with my family that I’m not when I’m online.

I am by no means saying I’m quitting.  I’m just appreciating the fact that I have a good crew of Officers that have been willing to step up and help me manage the guild while I’ve done some re-prioritizing.

Some of the above may be fueled by a very sad and confusing state of events that happened in guild recently.  I’m not going to go into details here, but suffice it to say that it’s one of those situations where you’re no longer sure that someone you know only through your interactions online may not have been 100% sincere about who they were, and there’s some very negative backlash over it.

Alex is home sick today.  Poor kid.  It’s the second cold he’s had in the last four weeks or so.  On top of all that he’s now in Physical Therapy for Little League Shoulder.  It’s nothing major, really, but it involves him having to be there at 7AM 3 times a week for the next six weeks.  He’s playing Baseball again, which is great, and he really wants to get into better shape (I think he’s starting to notice girls..a lot).  Fortunately he really just needs to tone up.  In the last year or so he’s gotten much taller but hasn’t put on any significant weight, and he’s really trimmed up nicely as a result.  Now he just needs a little muscle.  I’m thinking about seeing what kind of family deals they have at a gym or something like that.  If he really wants to get into shape now I’m going to do my best to encourage that, because it’s a lot easier to do at 13 than 33.

Think I’m going to go ahead and wrap this one up for now.