I’m Still Alive

Hey there to anyone who’s still out there following Copious Notes and hoping I update this place. It’s been just under two months and I’ve finally blown the dust off this place to get some new words out there to everyone.

Right now, writing this update almost makes me sad because I can feel the loss in my writing passion. I used to pride myself on updating here almost daily and now posts come trickling in every once in a blue moon.

I also feel that I’ve lost almost all the amazing connections I worked so hard to make during 2008. While I do see updates from people on Facebook, there really isn’t much interaction. At least, not as much as there used to be. I miss Melanie, Janna, Jenn, Auria, and everyone else who I became ‘friends’ with in this crazy writing world. I miss everyone. I miss the community I immersed myself in. I miss AbsoluteWrite.com and the time I spent there having fun with such great people.

This isn’t to say that I’ve been doing nothing or that my life isn’t filled with other things. My evenings are spent with my wife, relaxing. My days off consist of recording new episodes of my podcast with my best friend and also relaxing with whatever I want to work on. The main issue is that writing has taken a major backseat in my life right now. I’m not happy about it.

A few weeks ago I received a card in the mail from my Alma Mater about their annual “Summer Writers Week” coming up in June. My first thought was that I should attend and really get some skill-building done. Then reality set in: how can I attend a week-long writers conference when I don’t write? I also think the time, money and effort required to attend would be too much, especially when the school is about 2-hours away. That’s far when I have a wife at home.

So where does this leave me? Where does this leave my writing? For starters, I haven’t forgotten about it. My headset for dictation sits right next to me on my desk, just waiting to be used. This blog is on my Bookmarks Bar in Firefox & Safari, waiting to be updated. Spirit Hackers, it’s research and its outline have their claimed place on my desk as well.

My old work schedule when I worked nights, allowed me so much free time during the day that I was able to get a lot done. The flip-side was that I never saw my wife. I’d wake up at 9:30 or 10 am and then I had about 4-5 hours of whatever I wanted. I could get tons done and I usually did. I won’t lie though. I didn’t like the toll it took on me emotionally and the strain it put on my young marriage. The time apart from my wife was something I never could adjust to.

One issue that I think contributes to everything is my constantly-rotating shift at work. Every 6-months my schedule changes, making routines hard to establish. I know I can blame everything on it out of lazyness, but I won’t. I can just acknowledge it as a big reason.

In addition to writing, I’ve also been bad with the gym. That was another victim of my work changes. The gym is a distant memory, having stopped about six months ago. I struggle with figuring that out again as well.

So where does that leave me? Where do we go from here? I know I want to write. I know I want my life to be in order, the way I want it to be. I know I have people I can count on and most importantly I know I have the skills and tools to succeed if I apply myself.

I’ve said it before a thousand times and I’ll say it here: If you want something bad enough, you’ll make it happen. I need to heed my own advice when it comes to my priorities and make it happen. So for now, I will plan out what changes I have to make in my life to accommodate my goals and come back here refreshed and ready to take on the world once more.

For now, I want to let everyone know that I truly appreciate the friends I’ve made along the way and you have not been forgotten. I may not be around like I was not too long ago, but I am not gone for good. Thank you so much for all the help so far and I hope to re-connect with everyone out there. Thanks for hearing me ramble.

“The world, so hard to understand is the world you can’t live without.” -Billy Corgan

The Kindle 2: Now Shipping

I want to do a full write-up tomorrow about the Kindle 2, but I want to post that today is the first day of Kindle 2’s availability. The unit is still $359 and doesn’t ship with a cover any more, but it looks really thin and the page-turning buttons have been completely redesigned.

Even more impressive is the fact that the unit is still in stock and it didn’t sell out during the pre-order period. So if you’ve been jonesing for a Kindle, this may be the time to get it. You’d have it within a couple of days.

Check it out at Amazon.com/Kindle

Recovery

Throw Another Article in the ‘Done’ Pile

Yesterday I made another step towards writing again with resuming my article writing with Suite101. I still have plenty of time before my contract deadline approaches but with seven articles to go, I thought it would be a good time to get going on that.

I posted up a new article all about RSS and a basic introduction to it. I think it’ll be a good article and that it’s informative. I hope you all enjoy it as well!

Setting the Record Straight

Today I wanted to bring you guys a video post, where I can better go over what is happening with my writing, frustration, Spirit Hackers and my schedule. I hope you enjoy the post.

Time is on Your Side

Where the hell have I been?!? While that is far from the first thought in your mind, I’m sure it’s something you wondered as you were reading your usual round of writer’s blogs. Even I’ve asked myself this question in the past few days.

It’s been a rough 8 days mentally for me and honestly I’ve wanted to do nothing, let alone write or blog. Without getting into specifics, an anticipated change with my job did not come through and soon my available free time will change drastically. In the big picture, it’s really not the end of the world, but it drove me into a pretty big funk that I’m just coming out of in the past two days.

I also saw during this time that I was putting pressure on myself to write. I was setting myself up to write and then not doing it. This pressure and setup was turning into anger and a feeling that I’m not cut out for a realistic run to make this something to do full-time one day.

So what am I doing here? Today is the first day that I actually feel up to writing in any capacity. I’m trying to not think about Suite101 or Spirit Hackers. Additionally, I realized a few days ago that there was a podcast I used to do that I miss doing. Yesterday I threw out a ’signal’ of sorts to see if people even cared about a 18-month hiatus and I got a few responses right away. This tells me that I may revive my old show.

Beginning in February, I may have more time to work on my podcast but also get writing done with not feeling that pressure. We’ll see how that goes. I’m hoping to get some sort of writing done before then but if I don’t then I don’t.

I think I just had a slight mental breakdown. Plain and simple. I know I don’t need to apologize, but I want to say I’m sorry for not reading any other writing blogs or commenting and being a part of the community that’s graciously let me in. Thanks for your patience and I hope to get more writing done.

2009 isn’t starting as I had hoped but we’re only 16 days into the year. I think with 349 left, I’ll be fine!

Happy Belated Birthday!

Happy Thursday Copious Notes readers! This post has been put off way too long and I apologize for the lack of posts this week. It’s amazing how fast the days go by in January and how little someone can get done when they are unmotivated. This post was originally scheduled for this past Sunday but I didn’t get around to it and then kept putting it off.

I finally decided last night that I needed to get some writing done today (in any form) and post was priority #1. January 4th was the one-year anniversary of Copious Notes. Back in my first post I didn’t have much to say but I did get a lot of blogging done that initial month. I didn’t really know what to write or if anyone would ever read my thoughts, let alone visit here.

Through some networking and work I was able to make some good friends and I feel as if I’m part of a group of some sort. I did get a lot accomplished last year, finishing my Robert book and also working on my new book Spirit Hackers. While I’m far from done with any work, I think I’m on a good track to further my writing for 2009.

I went over my goals for 2009 a few posts ago and I think it’s equally important to see where we’ve been to see where we’re going. I think we all have goals but life can be tough and take away our drive, our time, and our ability to achieve them. While I’ve always had to struggle to focus and get things done, I do think I’ve done more writing in the last two years than I’ve done in the past ten.

One major accomplishment has been my Kindle experiment. I purchased my Kindle as a means to try to read more. That has been a stellar success with 2008’s book-count coming in at 8. I’ve never read that much….EVER. If I can take anything from 2008, I can say I’ve re-discovered reading, even if it’s just snippets during my lunch breaks or an hour once a week on my day off. No matter the reason, my Kindle has done its job.

So where do we go from here? I really have no idea. I am going to work on the goals for ‘09 but also go where my heart takes me. Recently I’ve had the desire to incorporate video & audio here but the time and effort for that is very high.

For now, I just want to write and continue the ultimate goal of getting published. A big thanks to everyone I’ve met along the way this past year for all your support, encouragement and for allowing me to share my life with you all. I appreciate you letting me into your blogging worlds and for making me feel like I can really do this.

Thank you.

Fun now, Serious Later

Happy Tuesday everyone! I have a larger, regular post coming soon but thought this video from The Onion was great. I love Apple and all but thank god this isn’t real. Enjoy.

Apple Introduces Revolutionary New Laptop With No Keyboard

The 2009 Rundown

It seems that everyone’s blog are talking about their to do lists for 2009 and honestly it’s something I’ve wanted to do as well. 2008 was an interesting year for me, but one where I jump-started many things writing-related. I have an entire retrospective I plan to post in two days and I’ll go into where I’ve been over in that post. Look for that on the 4th.

For 2009, there are a lot of things I want to do using the things I learned in this past year. Here’s the rundown of my writing goals for 2009:

1. I want to finish Spirit Hackers. This seems like an obvious goal but when I say finish it, I mean completely written and either fully edited or be far into the editing process.

2. Try my hand at Flash Fiction. I only learned about this style of writing a couple of months ago and think it’s something that would easily fit into my schedule.

3. Keep on blogging. I want Copious Notes to remain consistent and updated. I’m grateful for the work and effort I’ve put into this place so far but I want to keep going. Blogging, I feel, is important to me.

4. Decide what to do with my Robert Book. This book has a completed beta feedback waiting for me to read and still doesn’t have a title. I need to either turn it into something or decide it was just a ‘trial run’ for writing a book and put it away for good.

5. Explore other writing options once my commitment to Suite101 is complete. I like the freelancing so far and I want to see how far I can take it.

This is nowhere near a complete list, but these are the main things I want to try to accomplish in the next 363 days. As long as I’m writing in some capacity, I will consider it a good thing.

What about all of you? What are your goals for this new year?

Happy 2009

I want to take a moment to wish everyone out there a happy new year. I hope your 2009 is great and brings you much success. This past year has been tough for a lot of people and also most Americans. I look forward to 2009 knowing we will have a new president and hopefully some light at the end of the tunnel regarding war, foreign relations and most importantly the strength of our economy & nation.

I’m keeping today’s post short for everyone. On a good note I published my third Suite101 article yesterday afternoon. I hope you guys check it out and enjoy the content. Feel free to pass along the link and information to anyone who you think could use it.

I’ll see you all tomorrow. Enjoy your time off with family & friends. Be safe.