Many years ago, I had KansasLeftoverture on vinyl. It was a favorite recording for a long time. The composition and arrangements were rich and almost classical, which was typical of Kansas at the time. They were also concept albums, meaning there was a theme or storyline that ran through the entire recording — by intent. That is, the writers composed the music with a theme or themes in mind and the writing reflected that.
One of the songs on Leftoverture seemed to stand out from the others. It was a kind of music break or interlude, much simpler in composition, quieter, and more reflective — Magnum Opus:
This foolish game, oh it’s still the same
The notes go dancin’ off in the air
And don’t you believe it’s true, the music is all for you
It’s really all we’ve got to share
Cause rockin’ and rollin’, it’s only howlin’ at the moon
It’s only howlin’ at the moon.
I was looking for a subject for my Project 365 capture a couple of days ago. I let the day get away from me. I sat at my temporary desk and thought for a few minutes, when I noticed my toy wolf.
While at J&B Coffee yesterday, enjoying coffee with dear friends after a photoshoot (wherein I was the shootee), I noticed an artist working on a portrait. After coffee I asked for a portrait. He was reluctant, but finally agreed after I asked a couple of times.
How better to spend the beginning of the New Year than with a long walk with my Girl and then a visit with an old friend? After my morning regimen, I decided I really wanted a long walk. The last few days have been frustrating with the residual snow and the resulting ice. It’s cold enough at night to refreeze the previous day’s snowmelt, so the streets are treacherous and there is no place to walk. Most of the walks are still snow and ice covered. Higinbotham was great, but there is still a lot of snow and so my pace is too slow for me to get credit for my exercise. (I permit this one bit of obsessive-compulsive behavior.)
So, this morning I decided to drive to the Tech campus and see if I could get enough clear paths to get in a good walk. The Girl and I drove over there and campus was essentially deserted. We parked in the Engineering Key, which brought back many memories. I put the Girl’s training collar on her, got her out of my rig, and gave her a chance to sniff around while I collected my few things.
After policing her poo, we took off. We walked the Engineering Key, then turned west and walked along the back part of campus over to one of the new buildings. Tech has a lot of new buildings. Then we turned south along Indiana and walked to the housing area. We headed east along 18th Street and then closed the loop to the Engineering Key. All told, we got about 2-3/4 miles in and made a good pace. The Girl had plenty of chances to run out after a bird and then be called back into heel again.
I have to tighten up her training a bit. It seems she’s forgotten some of her service work. With all of my friends around, she’s confused about who she can greet and when. She’s so social that she wants to interact. She’s also a bit impulsive. So, we have some work to do and I’m up for it. I love working with her.
On the way back to the motel, a friend sent a text message that he’d be at the studio if I was up for a visit. So, we drove home, got a bite, I showered (needed it), and we drove over the Amusement Park Studio and visited with my friend while he worked on a mix. It’s fun watching him work. I love watching someone work when they know what they’re doing. There is beauty in skill. The more skill, the more beauty I see. While he worked, I snagged a few captures with my iPhone.
Now it’s my turn to do some work. I have things on my list yet that I want to get done. I have only a few days before I head west again. I’m ready to be on the road, but I need to complete some tasks too. So, I’d better get focused.
I believe this year will be better than last. I’m looking for my Best Year Ever and am willing to work for it. There’s lots of uncertainty in front of me. But, my concept for last year was Embrace Uncertainty. It appears that concept is still active this year. It’s good.
“I’m a little (Trangia) teapot, short and stout… Here is my handle, here is my spout.”
Well, it’s already afternoon and my day is only starting. How did that happen, I wonder…
Actually, I know. I was up really late (for me) last night, so I didn’t settle down until nearly 0000 hours. After spending the evening with dear friends (might as well be family), I needed a little time to decompress. That especially after the drive home. Texas Loop 289 was ice-covered in places and the ice was very dark. Fools (yes, morally deficient) were driving too fast and following too closely, plus one lane was only partially open. I passed a wreck being worked by first-responders in the southbound lanes. I kept my distance from the vehicle in front of me because the fool behind me was pressing.
Meh!
So, I exited the highway and made my way carefully along the frontage road to my hotel, eased into the parking lot, and found a spot. The Girl and I exited the vehicle gingerly, given the ice and snow still present on the lot. Plus the refreeze was starting, so there was patchy black ice. I have no interest in falling.
But, the evening was worth it. There are some relationships I neglected over the years. That was not by intent, but it seemed every time I made it here to Lubbock I was deluged with must-do’s for work of family. The things I wanted to do and the people I wanted to see were neglected, much to my chagrin. So, this time I am spending much time with those whom I always wanted to spend time with but was frustrated by circumstances outside my control. I have some control now and I’m using it.
So I wasn’t up at the buttcrack of morning (too cloudy for dawn) but early enough. I’m working through Michael Hyatt’sBest Year Ever as part of my growth plan for 2016. So, I worked through one of the lectures for that training, finished my coffee, and rounded up the Girl. We drove over to Higinbotham Park because I’m crazy for some longer walks and to get her out and give her a good play. So, we walked about 1-1/2 miles and she got to run, sniff, poo, pee, and be crazy for a few minutes. After days cooped up in the room, it was time — for both of us.
On our way home we stopped at the Lebensmittelgeschäft to reprovision. The Girl is needing some work on her public behavior so we worked on that a bit while shopping. I got what I need (eggs are back in stock finally) and what I want (a decent Cabernet Sauvignon) and we returned home. The Girl wanted food, so I fed her and gave her a bit of a treat by opening some wet food and mixing it with her kibble. She did an excellent down-stay while I placed her bowl, retrieved her water bowl, and refilled her water. I gave her permission to come to me, then released her to eat.
I need more exercise (it’s one of my long-term goals), so I did three circuits of calisthenics to push this old body a bit. My DOMS abated late yesterday afternoon, so I expected to be mostly recovered from my last training. I had a little soreness during my workout, but not bad and still managed to push out my targets and eke a bit more out of a couple of exercises.
Then, finally, I fed myself, watched a couple of YouTube videos (on bushcraft), and cleaned up. The little teapot in the image is from my Trangia stove kit. It’s the perfect size for one person and I use it daily. I love my Trangia kit. It’s really all I need for most of the cooking I do.
I just finished a nice chat with Older Son, who is buying himself and his bride a nice treat and wanted my input. Now I’ll go shower and get on with my day.
This is my life. There are many things about this life that I like. I have the freedom to determine my schedule. I have the responsibility to work on those tasks and projects that are important to me. I love that combination of freedom and responsibility. I have not needed someone to tell me what to do in a very long time. I do not need someone to tell me what to do now.
If I can figure out how to generate enough work to pay my bills, I can do this a long time. There is a part of me that wants that. The question will be whether I want it bad enough to work out the details of keeping work in my queue. That’s part of my inner work.
In the meantime, it’s New Year’s Eve! The year 2015 is ending and 2016 approaches. For once, I’m excited to see what the next calendar year will bring. My attitude is that I expect good things to happen. Let’s go!
One of my ways of educating myself is to listen to a few podcasts. Since returning to the Apple ecosystem, I’m back to using iTunes as my principal platform for podcasts. I’ll have to write more about that later… and will.
A favorite author/podcaster is Jonathan Fields. He’s a life coach among so many other things. His work is worth the investment of time and energy, at least for me. I recommend him.
Closing the books… that’s a business metaphor for a review of accounts, income and expenses, and evaluating those accounts and making sure the accounts balance. I’m in the process of closing my books for the year. I’m executing a review of my life over 2015. There are some big events in my life and some smaller events. My questions involve what happened, how/why events occurred, and what can I learn from my life over 2015? Which things drained my energy and which increased my energy?
I’ll use this study to consider what I’ll do, what I’ll work on, in 2016. That’s a process that I do every year at the end of one year and the beginning of the next. This year is a little different — a little more intense. I’m more serious about taking charge of my life, of my expenditure of my personal resources. I’ll do my best to learn from 2015 and use that to plan for 2016.
Once I learn what I can from my 2015 experience, I will then release my 2015 experience, put it behind me, and look forward to what comes next. I will use some techniques learned over the last few years to expunge negative thoughts, negative energy, from my inner world, forgive those who I need to forgive, including myself, and then turn toward 2016 and take the next steps.
I hope that listening to Fields’ riff was useful to you. It was for me.
The new year, 2016, is coming in a couple of days. I’m ready to move forward. I’m ready to see what is next for me. Do you want to share that experience with me? Let’s go…
After all the gloom, cold, and wind over the weekend, Monday morning dawned clear and cold. The warm morning light shone on the apartments across the highway from my hotel. It was a good morning.
The clip above is from Zack Arias, a photographer I follow now and again. He posts information/lessons from his experience and there is an honesty about him that is interesting. When I read Arias’ words, I get a sense that we are on this journey together. He has experience I don’t have. That’s why I’m along for the ride. But, there is a respect that comes from being on the same journey, even if at different points. There isn’t an attitude about him.
Watch his video. This bit of work was a turning point for his career. Until this video was produced for his guest post on Scott Kelby‘s site, he was still trying the make it. There is another video here in which he describes his journey.
Capture from Walkies on a loop near my lodging, Lubbock, Texas.
While walking a loop around our hotel a few days ago, the Girl and I came across a crane idled for the long Christmas weekend. I’m always amused when I see equipment suspended from the boom to keep it away from vandals.
My youngest sister was born the day after Christmas. She would have been 56-years old today. Like the rest of my nuclear family, she is gone.
She made a lot of poor choices over the years and that lead to quite a bit of distance between us. But I still loved her and when she was in a good place she was a lot of fun to be around. I miss you Sis. Happy Birthday!
Merry Christmas, early this morning on 25 December 2016. It’s about 0300 hours as I write this. Sleep seems to come hard to me these days. I’m not sure why and I suppose it doesn’t matter. I’ll be up a few minutes, then back in the rack until it’s time to rise and start my day.
This is the first year I have not spent Christmas at home, well, at my house. When I sold my house in June, I had no idea where I would be when the holidays arrived. So, here I am sitting in a hotel room, early on Christmas morning. It’s not sad, really, but it is certainly odd.
This is the day Christians set aside to remember the birth of Jesus, the Christ child. It was an event the Jews waited to see for generations. The prophets promised God would send a deliverer, which he did. He just wasn’t the deliverer the Jews expected. The deliverance wasn’t from their physical troubles; it was from their broken relationship with God. That relationship was long broken by sin.
Jesus came to fix that problem. He came to provide access to God be restoring our relationship to him by forgiveness of the thing that separates men and women from God — sin. This he did, much later after the birth we celebrate today.
So, today is the day I remember, celebrate, the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, the Christ-child. He is God-incarnate, fully God and fully human. He came to restore my access to God, which he did and I will celebrate that gift when Easter arrives. The dates are irrelevant; the remembrance and celebration are important, as is the act of faith that reconciles God’s children to God.
Merry Christmas, friends, and Christ is born. May there be peace on earth and goodwill to all, even in these times when it seems peace eludes us.
