Summary of the Next 30 Days at 1:43 AM

Like Zimm mentioned, I can’t quite believe that February is already over. It’s already time for a summary of the second 30 days. There was good and bad this month, as I am indeed back in the habit of practicing the guitar, but I missed a pretty significant number of days. And why, you may ask, is this the case? Well, I can sum it up in two words: Guitar Hero.

I got Guitar Hero III for my birthday (the 20^th), and I haven’t put it down since. Of course, the byproduct of this is that I’m awesome. Not crazy awesome, like the people who can play the expert level and get perfect scores, but I’m pretty good at medium difficulty. Mind you I do realize that it’s hardly an important accomplishment to be good at Guitar Hero, but I don’t care. It is much fun.

But that’s not what I’m here to talk about. So without further ado, the summary of the second 30 days:

Total Days Practiced: 20

Total Days Missed: 10

Was it Worthwhile? Definitely. I’m as good on the guitar now as I’ve ever been (which, granted, isn’t saying a whole lot), and I got a refresher on power chords, barre chords, and some scales I hadn’t done in a while. My fingers are nice and calloused, I’m in the habit of practicing and I’m enjoying it. So hopefully I’ll be able to keep playing and get better. It’s definitely something I’m having fun with again.

What’s Next? Well, at the moment I’m going to take the weekend off. Jessica’s sick, and I need to take care of a little business this weekend before I get rolling on the next project. So I’ll make the final decision over the weekend and let you know what it is on Monday. At the moment though, I’m sleepy. Good night.

First 30 Days Results at 11:22 PM

The story of the manager meeting will be largely told in pictures at some point this week, but for now it's time for a look back at the past 30 days and how I've done with my commitment to blogging every day.

Total posts: 25 (including this)

Days missed: 4 (I wrote a little post that I never actually published because of the poor internet connection, then I missed the next three days at the meeting outright. Once I missed those days, the little blip of a post was no longer worth putting up.)

Was it worthwhile? Definitely. I may not always have published a gem--heck, I may not have published a gem all month--but I'm back into it now. And without the obligation to post daily, I might be able to actually put some more time into a few of my posts. Not that they're usually masterpieces or anything, but things are better when they're not rushed, right?

What's Next? I've got a list of eleven more things that I can do this year, and I stared at it for about 20 minutes before making the decision. The list, by the way, will remain unrevealed at the moment since it's a living document. Also, if you have any suggestions (smartass or otherwise), feel free to post them in the comments. But as for the next 30 days, I'll be practicing the guitar. It's another of those things I want to get back in the habit of doing. So we'll get to tell pretty early in the year if I have any stick-to-it-iveness, or if I can only commit to something like this while I'm constantly being reminded. (I know I've heard people say that word, but how does one spell it? And is it even a word?)

As a side note, I'm planning on updating my MMA blog over on MMATorch.com on a daily basis for four weeks, starting next week. This will be independent of the Year of the Month projects. I want to do that because it's a lot easier to come up with ideas and write columns if I'm in the habit of writing regularly and thinking of smaller subjects for shorter column lengths.

So I may or may not post tomorrow, but you can bet it won't be another six weeks before you hear from me again.

Checking In at 11:12 PM

I'm back in Indiana after a day of traveling, and it's cold here. I was going to do the post in response to being tagged tonight, but I'm getting a few things done in anticipation of my upcoming two-day region meeting followed by the 5-day manager meeting. So tomorrow it is.

Quickie at 9:17 PM

So basically I have less time today than I had yesterday, what with the funeral and the lack of flight delay. So I'm just dropping in to say that the funeral was very nice, and also that someone needs to comment after that last post. It took too long to go unacknowledged. I realize now that I should have split it into two posts, but at least lie to me and tell me that one of you read it. I'll be back with more tomorrow.

More Difficult Than I Thought at 11:10 PM

I'm starting to think that this whole "30 straight days of blogging" thing might be a little more difficult than I thought it was going to be. Not because I forget to post or anything like that. The problem is either that I don't have anything to say, or that I have too much to say, but I need to get a post up and don't want to split something into two posts.

Take today. It's 11:15 pm again, and I don't want to sit and bang out the rest of my basement story, or my knee story, or talk about a few things I've been saving, because all of that would take too long. Not to mention that typing on this laptop is a little goofy with my spacebar the way it is. You saw the picture in my post from New Year's Day, and the spacebar needs some extra force in order for the space to "take". So I'm here like a bass player slapping the fret with my thumb after every word. Kind of annoying. At the same time, I don't want to throw up too many cop-out posts, or the kind where all I say is, "This post counts. Good night."

At the same time, I'm definitely getting more comfortable. I had forgotten how you have to get into the habit of writing before it feels natural. I'm way too used to business (which is to say "bland") writing, and it shows when you read my first few posts of the year. I've been struggling mightily to string a few sentences together. Now, though, I can start to feel the juices going.

I'm not going to get into too much tonight, other than to say that I beat Bioshock on the 360 today, which is one of the most beautiful and horrifying games I've ever played. I enjoyed every minute of it. I'd say my top games of 2007 (off the top of my head) are Halo 3, Crackdown, and Bioshock. Loved them all. Next up, I've got the Orange Box, and also I will officially begin petitioning for Guitar Hero III for my birthday in this space.

As a final note, I just saw a commercial for a show called "Lipstick Jungle", which will fit into a category that I'll probably talk about this month: "Things I've never seen, but am almost positive I would hate." And goodnight.

The Year of the Month at 9:55 AM

I know what you're thinking...this is going to be the next in a series of posts on a blog that's updated every six weeks or so. And up until the last post, you would have been right. Not anymore, my friends. You see, I've decided to take control of things. My activities and such, you know? If you'd asked me some time this past year why I haven't been blogging much, I'd probably tell you it's because I've been so busy. And to a certain extent, that's true. (Also, my keyboard was broken. See? Luke did that, in case you're wondering. And my spacebar still doesn't work right.)

But the real story is that I've been miserable. I've been spending too much time working, thinking about work, being annoyed with work, and generally feeling sorry for myself. But no more. Yeah, my job sucks right now (and has for most of the year), but what am I going to do about it? And moreover, why should that have an impact on the rest of my life? I'm always tired, I'm worn out from the strain of it all, from not having enough help, and all that. So I'm done with it. I'll still put in my time, and I'll still do what's necessary of course, but that's where it ends. Outside of the office, my responsibilities are in the home. I mean taking care of the family, and being more engaged in life in general, and I also mean taking my hobbies back up. You'll remember that I have many. But that's all preface. This is really about what I'm doing this year.

This year will be known as "The Year of the Month" for me. Every 30 days, I'm going to dedicate a certain amount of time on one activity. I know it's taking a page out of Morgan Spurlock's book, but this is different in its own way. For example, in January, I'll be blogging every day. I also won't be missing anymore column deadlines where I write my mixed martial arts columns (that site has been as neglected as this one.) In another month, it might be something as insignificant as watching a movie every day. Or it might be as obscure as spending time every day reconnecting with people that I've fallen out of touch with. Basically, the idea most months is that I want to do something for 30 days in order to get into the habit--or back into the habit--of doing something I want to do. So I'm starting with blogging. That doesn't necessarily mean that I'll blog every day for the rest of the year, mind you, but hopefully it should be more frequent than it has been.

One of the byproducts of this project is that I should be able to finish the last story I was telling, and I can hopefully even throw in some more stories...like the tale of my recent knee surgery. (Good times were had by all, I assure you.) So this isn't just some resolution that I'll forget about soon enough. I'd start this any time of year, but I just happened to think of it at the beginning of 2008. Heck, I may not even stop at twelve months, or even go the whole year. I just want to take a little action, and get some control back in my life. This little project won't be the only thing I do; I just figure it's a start.