New Activity #4: Wore a t-shirt over a jumper and under a vest in public.
It didn't work out too well.
Immediate sensations/impressions: Felt like a dick.
0 stars
Thursday, April 15, 2010
Wasting Time in New and Innovative Ways
That's it. I spent about twenty mins thinking of this title. I think it says it all really.
Number Three
New Activity Number Three: Got Lost... on my bike...in an unfamiliar suburb...
So I didn't mean to get lost. I don't often intend to get lost. I've just had my bike repaired after having it brokenly clog my hallway for about two years. And on the day I got my bike back my car broke down. And since mechanics require your car to arrive at about 4am I found myself dropping off my car and riding home in the bleak morning sun. And one wrong turn later and I'd added an extra 40mins to my journey as I continued to get loster and loster in the labyrinth of the suburb streets.
On the plus side I saw a whole new side to a suburb I didn't know. And riding is always fun. I had to ask myself why I hadn't bothered to get my bike fixed sooner.
Initial impressions/sensations: Growing wonderment and slowly mounting joy followed by intense confusion and swear words. It's never fun to become completely disorientated. But at least I didn't pansy out and just turn back the way I'd came to make the correct turn. I badassed it through the burbs and it wasn't half bad in the end.
3.5 stars
So I didn't mean to get lost. I don't often intend to get lost. I've just had my bike repaired after having it brokenly clog my hallway for about two years. And on the day I got my bike back my car broke down. And since mechanics require your car to arrive at about 4am I found myself dropping off my car and riding home in the bleak morning sun. And one wrong turn later and I'd added an extra 40mins to my journey as I continued to get loster and loster in the labyrinth of the suburb streets.
On the plus side I saw a whole new side to a suburb I didn't know. And riding is always fun. I had to ask myself why I hadn't bothered to get my bike fixed sooner.
Initial impressions/sensations: Growing wonderment and slowly mounting joy followed by intense confusion and swear words. It's never fun to become completely disorientated. But at least I didn't pansy out and just turn back the way I'd came to make the correct turn. I badassed it through the burbs and it wasn't half bad in the end.
3.5 stars
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Number Two
New Activity Number Two: Getting High
Yes that's right, I got high.. I climbed up high on the roof of the house to clean the gutters for Mum and Dad.
OK so it's not an explosive beginning to the new activities list, but it does have its high points. First of all being high up. Being high up is a high point.
Seriously when was the last time you stood on your roof and had a good look around your neighbourhood? And I don't mean in a creepy bedroom peeper kind of way, but more like the way you probably used to as a kid from either the roof or a monster of a tree.
Secondly cleaning your gutters before it rains is way more convenient than doing it when it rains. I know this because when the thunderstorm hit this morning and rain drops started trickling into the ceiling, I remembered my months of empty promises and ended up cleaning the gutters in the pissing rain. But by the time I was soaked to the sphincter in rain and mud, the clouds passed and I was left standing on the roof overlooking quiet suburbia.
Thirdly it's good to get your hands dirty. Not just like the sweaty grit that is always on your hands after six hours of intense Xbox controller useage, actual squelchy and sodden dirt. It makes you feel like you've achieved something manly. And if you don't scrub under the nails, you can claim to have done a variety of outdoor manly activities for days to come.
Immediate impressions/sensations: Well I'm not hugely fond of heights so that's a downer, but as long as I wasn't right on the edge I didn't feel as though I was risking fatal injury. And when you're a storey higher than everyone else it's like you're in a different world. Okay so it's not an extreme activity, and it is akin to standing on a second story balcony, but it was an old school way of looking at things from a different angle. Just don't stare into someone else's backyard for too long.
3 stars
Yes that's right, I got high.. I climbed up high on the roof of the house to clean the gutters for Mum and Dad.
OK so it's not an explosive beginning to the new activities list, but it does have its high points. First of all being high up. Being high up is a high point.
Seriously when was the last time you stood on your roof and had a good look around your neighbourhood? And I don't mean in a creepy bedroom peeper kind of way, but more like the way you probably used to as a kid from either the roof or a monster of a tree.
Secondly cleaning your gutters before it rains is way more convenient than doing it when it rains. I know this because when the thunderstorm hit this morning and rain drops started trickling into the ceiling, I remembered my months of empty promises and ended up cleaning the gutters in the pissing rain. But by the time I was soaked to the sphincter in rain and mud, the clouds passed and I was left standing on the roof overlooking quiet suburbia.
Thirdly it's good to get your hands dirty. Not just like the sweaty grit that is always on your hands after six hours of intense Xbox controller useage, actual squelchy and sodden dirt. It makes you feel like you've achieved something manly. And if you don't scrub under the nails, you can claim to have done a variety of outdoor manly activities for days to come.
Immediate impressions/sensations: Well I'm not hugely fond of heights so that's a downer, but as long as I wasn't right on the edge I didn't feel as though I was risking fatal injury. And when you're a storey higher than everyone else it's like you're in a different world. Okay so it's not an extreme activity, and it is akin to standing on a second story balcony, but it was an old school way of looking at things from a different angle. Just don't stare into someone else's backyard for too long.
3 stars
Number One
New Activity #1: Got Up Off My Ass...
(and then sat down on it again in order to start this blog).
That's right, my first new activity was to get up off my ass and get started on something new. Don't get me wrong, I have stood up before, I have been thoroughly familiar with this particular action for most of my 25 years (photos to be attached shortly). The actual standing up process is not the sole focus of this entry (I concede the title may confuse that issue) however I consider this act of physical relocation to be somewhat of a milestone as I've been banging on about wanting to write for ages and this is the first step in that direction. Really the new aspect of this activity is self motivation. And believe me when I say it is an entirely new experience for me. Don't get me wrong, I will participate in activities that present themselves, and I will often work hard to complete them well. However I have never been known for my skills in instigating events or activities. This my friends is a bold new era of reinvention.
Immediate sensations/impressions: Excited with a mix of trepidation and a tingling of curiosity. Creating a new sense of self seems pretty fun but can I stick to the goal of writing about 100 new things in 100 days? I'm not sure. I don't have a good track record for keeping myself motivated. Plus I'm easily distrac..
4 stars.
(and then sat down on it again in order to start this blog).
That's right, my first new activity was to get up off my ass and get started on something new. Don't get me wrong, I have stood up before, I have been thoroughly familiar with this particular action for most of my 25 years (photos to be attached shortly). The actual standing up process is not the sole focus of this entry (I concede the title may confuse that issue) however I consider this act of physical relocation to be somewhat of a milestone as I've been banging on about wanting to write for ages and this is the first step in that direction. Really the new aspect of this activity is self motivation. And believe me when I say it is an entirely new experience for me. Don't get me wrong, I will participate in activities that present themselves, and I will often work hard to complete them well. However I have never been known for my skills in instigating events or activities. This my friends is a bold new era of reinvention.
Immediate sensations/impressions: Excited with a mix of trepidation and a tingling of curiosity. Creating a new sense of self seems pretty fun but can I stick to the goal of writing about 100 new things in 100 days? I'm not sure. I don't have a good track record for keeping myself motivated. Plus I'm easily distrac..
4 stars.
one new thing, every day for a hundred days
So I'm four months into my 'sabbatical year'. The whole point of taking this year off was to establish myself as a writer. Since so far all I've done is tell people "yeah I'm a writer", I figured I should actually do some writing to complete that circuit that makes a writer actually employable. So it starts here. Every day for the next one hundred days I will be trying something new and then writing about it. Buckle up and wear protective eye wear as my writing will probably be exploding off the screen and the last thing my fledgling career needs is a lawsuit.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Doing Fine Still
Okay so I'm 25. Quarter of a century. Shit. By this point I should have some idea where my life is headed right? I should have some inkling of where I want to be in ten years or what major achievements I want to share with the world.
It's not like i'm 70 and sweating over relatives gently nudging me towards a retirement home and early bedtimes and all day pyjamas and a gravestone. No my situation isn't that bad. It's just that I figured at this point in my life I would have a vague game plan. Or at least a hail mary shot that I could pull out of my ass if things get really desperate. But all I'm getting is panicked blankness and internal confusion and late night bad TV.
School was great. There were challenges and goals and anything good got you a pat on the back and public recognition. My Arts Degree gave me a feeling of superiority that my classmates and I were sharing an insight into the world that made me an enlightened person... a smart person. And it's nice to feel like this. You can sleep securely knowing the world is slightly better for having you in it and that one day everyone will publically acknowledge this fact.
But plopped out into the real world at the end of my degree there is nothing but thumb twiddling to occupy my time. Turns out the community isn't crying for self-righteous arts students to take up a position of 'Community Advisor' or 'Life Guider' and that's a shame because no doubt my massive intellect could revolutionise the Western World. In fact there's hardly any job related to my skills at all. So mine is now a lifestyle of late breakfasts and Xbox games, blank stares and cynical world views and not a lot of cash while waiting for the world to come to it's senses.
But at 25 I should have figured something out right? It's like nature. If the world won't realise my potential then I should have an inherent drive that sorts this shit out for me shouldn't I? Some sort of survival tactic or internal programming that kicks in when I find myself directionless and spinning my wheels that puts me into a temporary slumber like state so that when I wake up I'm a celebrity and a C.E.O and an all round kick-ass guy ready to stick a finger up to an unenlightened society.
Deep down I know it: that slumber like state I'm wishing for is the period of life called 'hard work'. And it's described to kids as that character building, life defining, most enjoyable phase of your life journey (just to reduce you complaining about working hard I suspect). And to skip this phase of life would be to rob myself of the tears of joy and sorrow that would mould me into a world-wizened warrior. But I'm OK with that. If I'm fast learning one thing about myself it's that I'm lazy.
But it's been about three years of time wasting and it seems this 'hard work' is unavoidable. The lotto ticket I bought didn't win and there are no rich relatives on the brink of leaving me a fortune in their will. So I may as well give it a go. Stick a toe in the pool of 'hard work' (although secretly I suspect it's beneath me).
A writer. I'll be a writer. That's a vague enough title to give the impression I'm working without having to show much for it. "I'm formulating ideas!" I'll say, or, "The ideas are gestating and I can guarantee you'll love them!". Since I've made the decision to tell everyone I'm a writer, I should at least give off the impression I'm making an effort. So that's why I'm here, at a coffeeshop on my laptop.
So far so good. No one here suspects a thing and I'm about to order my fourth flat white..
It's not like i'm 70 and sweating over relatives gently nudging me towards a retirement home and early bedtimes and all day pyjamas and a gravestone. No my situation isn't that bad. It's just that I figured at this point in my life I would have a vague game plan. Or at least a hail mary shot that I could pull out of my ass if things get really desperate. But all I'm getting is panicked blankness and internal confusion and late night bad TV.
School was great. There were challenges and goals and anything good got you a pat on the back and public recognition. My Arts Degree gave me a feeling of superiority that my classmates and I were sharing an insight into the world that made me an enlightened person... a smart person. And it's nice to feel like this. You can sleep securely knowing the world is slightly better for having you in it and that one day everyone will publically acknowledge this fact.
But plopped out into the real world at the end of my degree there is nothing but thumb twiddling to occupy my time. Turns out the community isn't crying for self-righteous arts students to take up a position of 'Community Advisor' or 'Life Guider' and that's a shame because no doubt my massive intellect could revolutionise the Western World. In fact there's hardly any job related to my skills at all. So mine is now a lifestyle of late breakfasts and Xbox games, blank stares and cynical world views and not a lot of cash while waiting for the world to come to it's senses.
But at 25 I should have figured something out right? It's like nature. If the world won't realise my potential then I should have an inherent drive that sorts this shit out for me shouldn't I? Some sort of survival tactic or internal programming that kicks in when I find myself directionless and spinning my wheels that puts me into a temporary slumber like state so that when I wake up I'm a celebrity and a C.E.O and an all round kick-ass guy ready to stick a finger up to an unenlightened society.
Deep down I know it: that slumber like state I'm wishing for is the period of life called 'hard work'. And it's described to kids as that character building, life defining, most enjoyable phase of your life journey (just to reduce you complaining about working hard I suspect). And to skip this phase of life would be to rob myself of the tears of joy and sorrow that would mould me into a world-wizened warrior. But I'm OK with that. If I'm fast learning one thing about myself it's that I'm lazy.
But it's been about three years of time wasting and it seems this 'hard work' is unavoidable. The lotto ticket I bought didn't win and there are no rich relatives on the brink of leaving me a fortune in their will. So I may as well give it a go. Stick a toe in the pool of 'hard work' (although secretly I suspect it's beneath me).
A writer. I'll be a writer. That's a vague enough title to give the impression I'm working without having to show much for it. "I'm formulating ideas!" I'll say, or, "The ideas are gestating and I can guarantee you'll love them!". Since I've made the decision to tell everyone I'm a writer, I should at least give off the impression I'm making an effort. So that's why I'm here, at a coffeeshop on my laptop.
So far so good. No one here suspects a thing and I'm about to order my fourth flat white..
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