Peripheral Vision

My last post talked about anticipation, and looking forward to certain things in your life that you have deemed to be significant.  Goals are good!  In building on that philosophy I've decided that it would be appropriate to write a little something about plans.  What is a plan?  I looked it up on Wiki: "A plan is typically any diagram or list of steps with timing and resources, used to achieve an objective."  Nice definition.  Plans are separate from goals--check.
 
Over the past year or so my ideas about making plans have experienced a drastic shift.  There's something about living by myself in a new setting that has brought out the more spontaneous side of my nature.  Once I got over the shock of "Wow, I really just moved to Denver and hardly know anyone-- now what?" I came to the realization that I'm at a wonderful stage in my life where, save for specific things like work and church, my schedule rests almost entirely on me.  I have several hours each day that I can fill with...  This scared me.  I'm the type of person who feels a need to be productive, a need to work towards accomplishing something.  How could I possibly plan out that much free time toward productive things?!  I felt a bit overwhelmed, so something had to change.

Back in the day, blinders were used on carriage horses so that they could only see straight ahead to the task at hand.  If they were allowed to use their peripheral vision, they would become distracted or spooked.  I think this example fits fairly well.  I no longer wear my blinders; I'm not a carriage horse.  Even though I may be distracted, or even spooked, if I'm "allowed" to see anything other than a direct path, I gain a new world of possibilities in how I can accomplish my goals.  Is this the safest way? No.  Does life need to always be safe?

I quit planning.  I started doing.  Problem solved.  There is a time and a place for making plans...but I'm actually at a loss as to when and where that may be-- maybe if you're working for NASA blasting people into outer-space or something of that magnitude, but that's a little bigger deal than "how am I going to spend my weekend."  This doesn't mean that I just wander around aimlessly without purpose or reason; if that were the case, I wouldn't get anything done.  I still have purpose, and I still have goals.  What I mean is that in looking at a theoretical map of "Point A" to "Point B," I no longer feel a need to have a set list of scheduled steps (an itinerary) to go along with it.  My goal is to get to Point B...go!  There are so many more adventures to be had, things to learn, and potential mistakes to learn from if you allow yourself the freedom to do so.  And I actually get more done-- who knew?!

Here's to Days Just Packed with peripheral vision!

Anticipation

I've been looking forward to a lot of things lately.  I wouldn't necessarily say that any of them could be placed in the "momentous" or "earth-shattering" category, but I still await their arrival with anticipation, and regardless of how important they may end up being in the long run, I'm still excited.  It's good to have something to look forward to; it means you're looking up from you're day-to-day life in order to see what is waiting for you just over the horizon.  Even if what you see in the distance remains unclear, that's what makes it so exciting-- it's an adventure!

What am I looking forward to?  My list may sound simple, and a little silly, but I still find adventure and mystery in it.  Trying out the cheap pair of skis I bought on Craig's List, spending a random Saturday at Blackhawk with some friends, playing volleyball on Sunday nights, finally being able to have a conversation in German, the first pitch of the year, beer and peanuts at Coors Field, the first time I walk outside this Spring and smell rain-- my list could go on and on.  Simple, yet satisfying.

What is life like without looking forward to something?  What would the future look like without goals?  That's one thing I intend to not find out! 

Here's to Days Just Packed with anticipation.

Sabbatical

Sabbatical: (from Latin sabbaticus, from Greek sabbatikos, from Hebrew Shabbat i.e., Sabbath, literally a "ceasing").

That's my explanation anyway for not writing any form of blog post for the past 4 or 5 months. I didn't actually take a sabbatical from work or life or anything interesting like that-- just from blogging. It seems like the motivation to do some things goes in waves, and I guess my blog has just been setting at low tide for awhile!

Regardless of reasoning behind motivation levels, I've decided to give the blog a little jump-start. CLEAR!

Hold on to your hats!

Fantasy Football

I'm at it again! I just joined a fantasy football team, so that means...Logo design! Oh yeah, and setting up my draft (I better get on that). Anyway, In order to get my logo over to my team page, I have to have it referenced somewhere on the web. I figure my blog is a good place to do this so enjoy!


Oh, and here's to Days Just Packed with watching football and making cool logo designs that make my team look good even if we lose.

Avatar *Spoiler Alert!*

Ok, so I finally watched Avatar this last weekend. I wasn't necessarily avoiding watching the movie, it just was never particularly high on my list for whatever reason. eventually, I found out what this reason was. It wasn't bad, but throughout most of the movie I felt like I already knew what was going to happen next. I couldn't put my finger on it until...

I was hit by a wave of inspiration. Avatar: Pretty much the grown-up, sci-fi version of Disney's Pocahontas. It's true! The more technologically-advanced people travel to a new world in search of precious minerals. These people consider the natives to be savages and don't seem to have any problems with destroying them or their world in order to get what they want. A soldier (John Smith) attempts to get to know them and understand them and finds out that they have their own technology by way of their connection with the world around them. The natives answer to a tree spirit (Grandmother Willow). The soldier falls in love with one of the natives and eventually ends up taking their side. Don't get me wrong, the underlying message, if taken in this way, is good. Respect others, respect their lands and way of life, respect nature, etc. I know that it's been forever since I've seen it, but this just might also line up pretty well with Ferngully. Seems like it would.

Had I not seen these movies as a child, I may have enjoyed Avatar a little more-- or maybe not; I don't know. As it was, the plot "just ok" and I was really sad that my little TV wasn't able to give me the 3-D effects that would have made it a little better.

Anyway, that's just my take on it. It was a very symbolic movie, and there were several different ways to interpret it. I've heard a few other interpretations, but they aren't nearly as nice!

Inception: Now THERE's a GOOD movie! I just saw it the other night at the theater. Amazing! Go watch it.

Here's to Days Just Packed watching movies like Inception and not Avatar (even though you have to watch a few crappy movies too just so you appreciate the really good ones!)

More than 31 flavors.

I guess I should officially declare August to be "Music Month." It seem like music is always on my mind lately, or at least it has been the only 'blog-worthy' thing on my mind. In the middle of last week I managed to exceed my 40-hour monthly music quota on Pandora. This would have been around Aug. 10 or 11. At any rate, it was a new record. Forty-hours of music in about 7 days if you take out the weekends.

I often show up to work in the morning, fire up my computer, pour a cup of coffee, and start up Pandora. Pandora can be summed up in one word:

greatmusicplayinginthebackgroundandIdon'thavetomesswithithardlyever

Yes, I love my Pandora account because I can go there, pick a station I have custom made to fit a certain style of music, and then just let it play in the background as I work. The only times I ever really have to mess with it is to pause when someone comes into my office to talk, to tell it I really don't like the song it picked out (not likely), or to tell it that it should play more songs like the one it just played (I usually only do this enough times for it to get the idea).

I have 18 different Pandora stations. I know that my title said "More than 31 flavors," but I lied-- 31 sounds better. Anyway, picking a station to listen to in the morning is like asking myself, "Hmmm...what flavor should I pick today?" Like picking out ice cream, it really depends on my mood and how I feel. For example, this week's menu included dixieland/jazz today, gypsy punk/ska on Thursday, the kind of stuff you hear at Starbucks on Wednesday, "old vocals" like Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr., and Perry Como (<----odd one out?) on Tuesday, and Monday was 80's music. I'm surprised that the musical side of my brain hasn't been turned into blended mush with all the different kinds of music I throw at it.

For the curious, my current favorite is the Starbucks blend. It's really catchy, but still relaxing. I can tap my foot, but it's not hard-driving rock or chair-bouncing jazz. I give it my "Best Flavor for the Workplace" rating. Speaking of work...

Here's to Days Just Packed with the many flavors of music! (just not all mixed together at once, because a "music blendie" may be a horrible, horrible thing).

*Sigh

This week is the first week of Band Camp for the CSU Marching Band (CSURFVMB) <----A gold star if you figure out the acronym. This week is also the first week in five years that I haven't been in it and, I have to admit-- I miss it already. The Band was big part of my life at CSU, and no matter how many times I said I was glad to be done, I can't help but be a little sad that I am.

I know that this past March I finished off that chapter in my life, and I even made a blog post about it. I "turned the page" so to speak, but I also "didn't close the book." The best stories are the ones that continue to be told even if the following chapters follow a different direction. I know it sounds geeky, but this week was one of reflection for me. I flipped back a few pages and looked back at some of the greatest memories I had while being in the band-- friendships I made (many of which have continued), the long, hot days I complained about but secretly loved (a far cry from my new life in the air-conditioned office), losing my voice and hurting my hands as I yelled commands and clapped the cadence time and time again until the new marchers "got it" (maybe I don't miss that as much!), and the feeling of successfully running through the entire show for the first time with music and drill (one of the greatest feelings of "mission accomplished" a band member could feel at the end of camp). *Sigh (typically the rest of the alto section would respond in chorus with another, even louder sigh).

Yes, I miss band, and yes, that makes me a band geek. As I said in my last post, music is still a big part of my life, and I'm sure it always will be. Even though I'm a little sad this week as I look back at my memories of band, I don't see this as a bad thing. For one, I have something to miss, which means that I was once involved in it. And secondly, I miss it, which means I enjoyed doing it. So, as always...

Here's to Days Just Packed with some very fond memories!