STATEMENT OF PURPOSE: PART ONE
There are lots of things I want to do with this time, but there are a few I want to do every day (at least Monday through Friday)...either because they're important to the larger goals of this project or because they're habits I want to establish for life in general. There are also a couple of kind of non-negotiable things I'm going to have to do. Now, nobody's perfectly consistent, and I am less so than most, so I have no doubt there will be hiccups in this process, but that's where this journal comes in. I will be reporting progress on the following things EVERY DAY:
1) Practice one or more musical instruments for at least an hour. I can sort-of-play keyboard and bass, and I'm trying to learn guitar, and I have the ukulele I stole from my sister here, and there's a drumset in the dining room, too...
Anyway, there's a copy of Hanon's Virtuoso Pianist on the music stand at the piano, E___ has a stack of drum books, and the internet is rife with tablature and tutorials for stringed instruments. By the time I have to get another job, I'd like to see some actual advancement in technical ability at some of these things.
2) Exercise for at least an hour. And if it's just for an hour, it's going to need to be pretty vigorous. Otherwise it'll have to be longer. This is one of those things I find incredibly difficult to stick with, but (other than the money) the only really good thing to come out of my previous job was that it kicked my ass into shape, and I'd hate to lose that. Moreover, if my body is in a bad way, the rest of this stuff is going to become accordingly more difficult.
3) Write for at least an hour. This is writing apart from and beyond any structured writing I might be doing...this is free, let-it-out-or-cough-it-up writing that just lets ideas crash into each other with wild abandon, unedited, uncensored. This is for two reasons: a) When you write longer than you think you can, that's when interesting things start happening, and you can use those interesting things elsewhere, and b) I am waaaay out of the habit of expressing myself, and I need to get the writing channels in my brain flowing, again.
4) Read for at least an hour. Not the internet, either, because the temptation to open Facebook or gmail in the next tab is just too great. I want time to let ideas enter my head, be examined, incubate, and reproduce without anything going "ding!" or otherwise demanding my attention. The other rule here is that the books I read need to be things that I actually feel like are expanding my mind or enhancing me in some way, not just popcorn fiction. Poetry, philosophy, well-written prose, informational books on topics I find interesting. Alameda has a nice public library, and I intend to use it.
5) Repair work/electronics for at least two hours a day. I have to do this in order to defray expenses, but I also want to do it, because it's something I enjoy, and I've somehow let that fact get away from me. Two hours a day is a pretty light work load, and I'll probably do more just by simple force of habit, but even if I clear out my shop, I still have a ton of design ideas and projects and things I'd just like to mess around with, and it's worthwhile to put time into those things. They're fun, they're interesting, and some of them might contribute to my art or the art of others when they're done, and might even make me some money.
6) Take a picture of something. At some point I might buy a camera, but in the meantime my phone will do. There are no days that do not contain SOMETHING worth photographing, and if there are, you just need to go find something.
7) Updating this blog. Of course. This will also include making the page friendlier and less unsightly, as time goes on, but for now I just wanted to get the basics pasted up.
There are some attendant goals, too, such as getting up at a decent hour in the morning, going to bed before dawn, and eating meals that are made out of actual food, and I'm going to try to report on those with unflinching honesty as well. But what I've outlined above is about a six hour per day commitment...shorter than most jobs. There's no reason in the world why I can't stick to this plan except a simple failure of willpower.
Hmmmm. It occurs to me that what I'm planning here is really sort of a monastic retreat. Rather than Zen or the Tao, though, what I'm really seeking is...me. This is a chance to find and expand my inner me by performing certain rituals to honor him. With any luck, I'll come out the other side more me than ever.
1) Practice one or more musical instruments for at least an hour. I can sort-of-play keyboard and bass, and I'm trying to learn guitar, and I have the ukulele I stole from my sister here, and there's a drumset in the dining room, too...
Anyway, there's a copy of Hanon's Virtuoso Pianist on the music stand at the piano, E___ has a stack of drum books, and the internet is rife with tablature and tutorials for stringed instruments. By the time I have to get another job, I'd like to see some actual advancement in technical ability at some of these things.
2) Exercise for at least an hour. And if it's just for an hour, it's going to need to be pretty vigorous. Otherwise it'll have to be longer. This is one of those things I find incredibly difficult to stick with, but (other than the money) the only really good thing to come out of my previous job was that it kicked my ass into shape, and I'd hate to lose that. Moreover, if my body is in a bad way, the rest of this stuff is going to become accordingly more difficult.
3) Write for at least an hour. This is writing apart from and beyond any structured writing I might be doing...this is free, let-it-out-or-cough-it-up writing that just lets ideas crash into each other with wild abandon, unedited, uncensored. This is for two reasons: a) When you write longer than you think you can, that's when interesting things start happening, and you can use those interesting things elsewhere, and b) I am waaaay out of the habit of expressing myself, and I need to get the writing channels in my brain flowing, again.
4) Read for at least an hour. Not the internet, either, because the temptation to open Facebook or gmail in the next tab is just too great. I want time to let ideas enter my head, be examined, incubate, and reproduce without anything going "ding!" or otherwise demanding my attention. The other rule here is that the books I read need to be things that I actually feel like are expanding my mind or enhancing me in some way, not just popcorn fiction. Poetry, philosophy, well-written prose, informational books on topics I find interesting. Alameda has a nice public library, and I intend to use it.
5) Repair work/electronics for at least two hours a day. I have to do this in order to defray expenses, but I also want to do it, because it's something I enjoy, and I've somehow let that fact get away from me. Two hours a day is a pretty light work load, and I'll probably do more just by simple force of habit, but even if I clear out my shop, I still have a ton of design ideas and projects and things I'd just like to mess around with, and it's worthwhile to put time into those things. They're fun, they're interesting, and some of them might contribute to my art or the art of others when they're done, and might even make me some money.
6) Take a picture of something. At some point I might buy a camera, but in the meantime my phone will do. There are no days that do not contain SOMETHING worth photographing, and if there are, you just need to go find something.
7) Updating this blog. Of course. This will also include making the page friendlier and less unsightly, as time goes on, but for now I just wanted to get the basics pasted up.
There are some attendant goals, too, such as getting up at a decent hour in the morning, going to bed before dawn, and eating meals that are made out of actual food, and I'm going to try to report on those with unflinching honesty as well. But what I've outlined above is about a six hour per day commitment...shorter than most jobs. There's no reason in the world why I can't stick to this plan except a simple failure of willpower.
Hmmmm. It occurs to me that what I'm planning here is really sort of a monastic retreat. Rather than Zen or the Tao, though, what I'm really seeking is...me. This is a chance to find and expand my inner me by performing certain rituals to honor him. With any luck, I'll come out the other side more me than ever.