Things have been looking good. I’ve been going to physical therapy for my hamstring and I can already fell the improvements. It will be some time before I get the go ahead to put my running shoes back on, so in the meantime, I’ve beefed up my weight training and added yoga to my regiment. Yeah, yoga. Let’s talk about yoga for a minute. If you asked a year ago if I would ever consider trying yoga, I would have said “no way”. Here I am one year later all twisted up like a pretzel. And I’ll tell you another thing, I really like it. I honestly can say I feel incredible after a yoga session. Not only that, this particular routine I’m doing focuses heavily on meditation. Multiple positive anyone? Then again, all yoga may focus heavily on meditation for all I know.

My Russian has been improving steadily too. Not only have I been doing my lessons on a regular basis, but I’ve been finding ways to incorporate the language throughout my day. For example, I often answer my co-workers questions in Russian. It only pisses them off a little. I also only count in Russian. I’ll do this a lot when I’m working out, counting reps or tracking time. It’s a great way to keep my mind thinking Russian.

I may be getting a new Camera too. My 10D has had quite a bit of dust on the mirror for the last year and every attempt I’ve made to remedy this problem has failed. This includes spending $75 to send it to Canon directly. Well, I’ve decided to cut my losses and buy the new Rebel XSi (12.2mp) when it comes out in April. It’s about time I upgraded anyways. I’ll keep you posted, but hopefully I’ll start taking significantly more photos after I make the plunge.

I’ve been doing a lot of writing too. Actually, I never really stopped. I write in my journal at least once a week, but more often several times a week. These entries can range anywhere from day to day activities, thoughts and ideas, character development, random lists, just about anything that pops into my mind. It’s oddly liberating to get all your ideas out of you head and into written form. I highly recommend it.

Python and music are next on my list. I plan to do some coding tomorrow morning when I get up. In all fairness, a lot of my time has been spent reading lately. Currently I’m in the middle of two great books; The Victorian Internet and Ben Franklin: An American Life. Both are really fascinating.

I’ve also been watching some of the open courses Yale is offering. Specifically, Professor Kagan’s Philosophy course on death. This is what makes the Internet great, free knowledge. I’m not watching online courses made specifically for the net, but an actual Yale course, taught at Yale, by an actual Yale professor, in front of a real Yale class. Life is good. I even have homework. I have to read Plato’s Phaedo before the next class.

Coincidentally enough, that link to Plato’s Phaedo takes you to M.I.T.’s site, another incredible organization that promotes free knowledge for everyone.

But now I’m just rambling, and I’m hungry, so it’s time to wrap this up.

NaNoWriMo stands for National Novel Writing Month, and it takes place every November. Thousands of authors, from novice to veteran, partake in this event and attempt to write 50,000 words, or more, in one month. That’s approximately 12,500 words a week or about 1700 words a day. 50,000 words is generally considered to be the average size of a novel.

I’ve been watching the NaNoWriMo community from a distance for years now and I have always admired this journey in which they all embark. I really want to be a part of it. Alas, 50,000 words is a little steep for someone who has never even written a short story, but what if I were to shrink that a bit. Say, 20,000 words (a novella). I might be able to do that. I could commit to three days a week, which comes out to approximately 1666 words per writing session (approximately three typed pages). That might be feasible for me.

I have no delusions of grandeur, mind you. I fully expect my first attempt to suck to high heaven, and there is no way anyone will ever read it other than yours truly, but it seems to me that it would be a good place to start. If anything, it will be a great learning experience and hopefully a lot of fun. I have multiple characters and plot lines floating around my head, which have been simmering on the back burner for the last few years. The question now is, which one of them do I run with?

I’ll keep you posted as the event starts to rev up.

I’ve decided to try some writing prompts to jump start my imagination. There are some great creative writing prompts at this website: www.creativewritingprompts.com This will be my first attempt at this, so don’t laugh. This particular prompt asks me to close my eyes and think about an object in the room. After about three minutes of concentrating on the object, I am to open my eyes and write about it without looking at it. This should be interesting….

It’s a vase. It sits on top of my armoire, under a large lamp, and doubles as a bookend. I’ve had this vase for as long as I can remember, yet I don’t know where it came from. It stands about 8 inches tall and is approximately 4 inches across at it’s widest point, which happens to be its middle section. The top of the vase is almost as wide as the middle, but it curves out over itself to form a sort of lip around the rim. It’s rough to the touch, as if sand was mixed in to the ceramic, and has a distinct ribbed feeling. It’s made up of various shades of brown, and the décor reminds me of those souvenirs of oddly blown glass, filled with layers of colored sand. I always thought it would look at home on a ranch in Arizona or Colorado. Even though it’s a vase, I’ve never actually put flowers in it. It has, however, been known to contain a book or two of matches, and it also acts as a temporary holding place for my daughter’s baby teeth, once the tooth fairy makes her rounds. Most of the time it goes unnoticed, but every now and then it catches my eye. When it does, I’m always glad it’s there.

Writing, to me, could be the ultimate form of expression. Whether it be achieved through poetry, fiction, journalism, essay writing, or even blogging, one can express almost any idea, or stimulate any emotion with the right combination words. The key to success is the ability to master these words. Anyone can pick up a paint brush and slap around some paint, but a true artist will capture the imaginations of others. The same goes for writing. Here I sit, blasting away on my keyboard, attempting to convey to you my thoughts on why I want to become a better writer. My writing, however, lacks polish; it lacks finesse. It’s very rough in my opinion, and the words flow out of me like muddy water through a spicket. My hope is to change this.

I would love to be able to write a thought provoking essay like Paul Graham, or tell the story of a character, so compelling, that when you reach the final pages of the story, you can’t help but feel saddened. As if you were saying goodbye to a good friend. Now that’s talent. That’s how I want to write.