Goodbye week.

Friday is upon us!  Run!  Run for the hills!

No, don't do that, it's cold out there.  Stay inside where it's warm.  Anyway.  The week is coming to a close and it's quite exciting.  I have a gig tonight, no obligations tomorrow and a party to go to on Sunday.  All in all it sounds like a pretty good weekend.

Although the holiday juggle is fast approaching I'm a little relieved right now to have a little less on my plate.  November got to be a bit of a cluster with all the things I ended up getting involved in.  A musical, out of town work trip, two gaming groups, quadcopter planning, Thanksgiving, Warhammer tournament and most importantly spending time with the wife.  It was a busy month indeed.

I just can't help but get myself bogged down with tons of hobbies.  I just love doing so many different things.  It would be weird if I only did one or two things but it would probably be good to do so for awhile.  Right now it seems like everything is only quarter finished.

I started working on a book last year and this time I was doing it right.  I got a planning book and started doing all kinds of outlining.  It's a fun book completely outlined but I still haven't set aside the time to actually write it.  Instead I started writing a different book for some reason that is a few chapters in and going fairly well...except that I haven't touched it in almost two months.

I really like writing but on the other hand I really like playing music and after joining a band last spring it has has really opened up my opportunities to play.  It's only one gig, maybe two a month so it's not the biggest time hog.  I worry however about getting offered too many side projects.  The musical was a fun side-project but it was quite draining.  Doing the musical of course led to talk of other projects.  It's a strange phenomenon that happens when new musicians get together.  You start sharing your similar interests which of course leads to how fun it would be to do a certain project.  So there's a couple new ideas in the works that will be fun but time consuming.

This doesn't sound all that bad except that all this playing time has taken me away from the music I was writing on my own.  I was making some good progress on some new songs and having fun writing some soundtrack music.  Much like the book I haven't touched it in ages and I keep wondering when I'll get back to it.

Then there is the gaming.  Gaming is an exciting creative outlet for me because it combines so many of my interests into one activity.  I can design a world but I don't have to write the book because the players drive the plot.  Additionally I get to invent equipment and weapons for the game to tickle my inventive side.  Then there is the fun of creating game materials for the players which is just silly fun.  Writing entire letters with old-style dip pen on parchment paper is really fun for some reason.  Plus I'm seriously considering penning an entire source book by hand with dip pen.  Silly...yes.

Those are just the major things I enjoy doing which makes for quite the busy week indeed.  Throw in that I have a house that needs renovations, full time job, snow to shovel and a wife that would like to see me once in awhile and it gets to be a little crazy.  I'm not complaining, maybe a little, but not really.  I'm just taking a step back and realizing that maybe I should cut out a few projects for awhile and get something done for a change.

Legend

Hopes for a Friday:

Frazzled nerves and tired bodies will flock downtown in search of sweet release.  Liquor will relax sore muscles and beer will melt away stress.  Music will spill out into the cold night air and attract the masses searching for a warm retreat.  Numb toes will be warmed by dancing and cheers will rise as the music stirs life back into the crowd.

Jackets, scarves and hats will be piled to the side as the temperature climbs along with everyone's spirits.  Laughing and revelry will replace groans and sighs.  For one evening everyone will forget that there are many months of winter to come and simply enjoy themselves.  The crisp air on the walk home will feel invigorating instead of oppressive after a long night of defiance against old man winter.

At the end of the night, after many obliged calls for encores, we will lay down our instruments with satisfaction.  Our job was done with the world warmed a bit through music.  Smiling faces, breathless dancers and lifted spirits will be our creations.  We have fought the good fight against the darkness, the cold and the effects they have on the spirit.

Snow Days

I wish there were city wide snow days.  That would be amazing.  Stories!

You wake at six-thirty in the morning to your alarm and crawl out of bed to peek out your bedroom window.  Outside the world is engulfed in snow, a good foot on the ground with more continuing to fall with no signs of stopping.  Checking the weather app on your phone you see that it is expected to continue for most of the day and total accumulation expected at many, many inches.  

Currently this means you will be having a truly bad day as you will most likely have to shovel out of the driveway just to get the vehicle out and even then the plows won't be getting to the side streets near your house until the late afternoon leaving the roads quite treacherous.  With no time to spare you hustle to get your shoveling clothes on and blurry eyed you make a path just large enough to get the car out so you can get to work.  With your usual morning time spent you frantically head back inside and change clothes and try to make yourself presentable in the few minutes left to you.  Back outside your heart sinks as the snow is falling so fast it is barely recognizable that you just shoveled.  Nearly late already you clean off the car and say a little prayer that you'll make it out of the driveway.  Gritting your teeth you hit the accelerator, the tires spin, snow flies and you somehow end up in the road facing in approximately the right direction.  The white knuckle drive seems to take hours while your wiper blades do nothing to keep your windshield clear.  Your headlights cannot pierce the white curtain and for most of the drive you wonder if you're even on a road.  Somehow you get to work, which of course is a no-mans land because everyone else called in stuck and the customers have all elected to avoid leaving their houses because of the high chance of death.  Eight hours pass and all that goes through your mind is how bad things are going to be on the drive home.  You have plenty of time to think of course because the store has barely made enough in sales to pay the employees and keep the place heated.  At one point you sneeze and you can hear the echo from the far back wall.  Someone three departments away says 'Bless you' and you can hear it clearly.  With your shift over the great adventure begins anew.  Your car is buried, literally, as the parking lot was plowed three times during the day and it seems as if they piled all of the snow on top of it.  The determination to get home drives you onward and you free the vehicle then slide your way home sideways.  Once you return the driveway is impassable as the plows have made a snow bank across it that looks like it could stop a tank.  With the last shreds of energy left in your body you engineer an opening and get your car off the road where it was only nearly hit four times by traffic on the ever narrowing roads.  Sure there are the sidewalks to shovel and the driveway will be impassable in the morning but you simply don't have the energy.  

OR

After seeing the mess outside you notice that you received a text from the city emergency notification system.  The town has been put on snow alert and all citizens are advised to stay in their homes for their safety.  Travel is restricted to emergency travel only and all non-essential services and stores are shutdown for the day.  You smile, walk downstairs and make yourself an omelette with ham, cheese and tomatoes.  After a few cups of coffee and an episode of Doctor Who you strap your boots on and leisurely shovel the drive and the walk.  Afterwards you enjoy a hot cocoa and take a hot bath to thaw your toes then settle in for an afternoon of bad movies and a craft project.

I like option two. 

Death of Fun

The holidays are upon us and that means sales on video games.  In years past I have gobbled up the cheap games like holiday dinner items but this year something odd happened.  After browsing through the deals I realized that none of the games looked interesting to me and more than that I didn't even recognize many of them.  Were they just not popular games and the really good deals were yet to come?  Am I out of touch with the games that are out there these days?  Option two seems more likely.  

It's alright I think, not knowing about new video games, since I'm getting older.  I don't have the time to play as many these days so it's natural I suppose.  The sad part of this story however is what happened when I actually did buy a game.  

The X-Com reboot was on sale so I purchased it but then something terrible happened.  I didn't care to play it at all.  No  interest at all to load it up and try it out.  It's installed, ready to go but even with an entire Sunday afternoon free I didn't even bother.  The thought of diving into a new game brought me no joy whatsoever.  What happened?

Things have changed quite a bit over the last few years for me and I realize now that video games don't hold the same excitement for me anymore.  After buying a house that I want to work on, joining a band and having more social hobbies now there isn't much room for video games.  It makes sense but the realization was a bit of a shock.  

After thinking about it for a while I realize now that it's all about what I gain at the end of the time invested in a hobby.  The band gives me the fun of playing music and some extra cash too.  Fixing the house gives me a sense of accomplishment as well as adding value on my investment.  Writing and designing games works my brain and provides entertainment for my friends.  Designing and building a quadcopter gives me a quadcopter in the end.  All of these things give me something in the end whereas playing a video game gives me much less in comparison.  Sure there is some fun and sometimes it's nice just to relax with a video game but when the game ends I don't have much to show for it. 

It comes down to getting the most of the time and energy I expend.  Less and less video games provide enough return on the investment compared to other things in my life.  I won't stop playing them, I'm not crazy, however it will be more likely I'm going to invest in an activity that produces something.  It's a strange realization and shift in my life but one for the best.  Maybe it means I'm finally growing up?  No...I still like ninjas too much for that.