Passions and Distractions

I believe this would be classified as a ‘lifestyle’ blog, though it wasn’t quite my intent at the time of starting. I mean, my first few posts in 2014 were about nothing at all. And I mean nothing. Then 2015 happened. And, well, I’ll let the posts speak for themselves. It wasn’t until mid-2015 when I started to feel like myself again, but that’s also when my posting became irregular and put to the wayside. But I want to start posting again. I want to start showing people that I’m good and will continue to be good. And so, fresh on the heels of last week’s post (which you can read here), I’ve decided to take my own advice and slow down for a bit. What I realized by doing that, and reading previous blog posts, is that I seem to have four (4) passions going on here.

Passion number one (1)

 

A very small selection of my Comic Books

I’m a dork. Through and through. In fact, my first few posts of 2014 highlight this. Although not exclusively (because dork-ish material is mentioned throughout my posts), entries such as:

The Expo Experience
An Elegant Weapon for a More Civilized Age
Time of Legends, An Age of War
The Superhero Effect
Why Do We Fall?

The Expo Series (Links to the entries can be found at the bottom of the post)

Europe, I Am In You! starts off with mention of Eek Fest

Why Stay?

Expo Ahead (I promised posts from the Expo, but, well, they aren’t coming. Sorry!!)

Passion number two (2)

Yoga Mat and Aikido Gi

Fitness seems to be up there too. Or lack of fitness. I mean, I start with good intentions but they never, ever, seem to amount to much at all. Those can be found in posts along the lines of:

The Martial Art of Peace
The Mats
Operation: Superhero
Orange Is The New Fit
For the Love of the Run
A Mindful Triathlon

Passion number three (3)

Notebook, Ink, Ink Well, and Bamboo Calligraphy Pen

Writing. I’ve alluded to it over and over (and I’m pretty sure I’ve stated it on more than one occasion). Writing is my career goal. I have two diplomas in Children’s Literature (from the wonderful folks at the Institute of Children's Literature) and wouldn’t have it any other way. I’ve posted a few stories (links below), but the regular posts on this blog are in no way indicative of my skill as a writer. Nothing here is very polished at all. My writing posts can be found by clicking the links below:

The Page Turns
And She Still Got On That Train

Teddy Bear In The Locker (quite possibly my most polished story to date)

A Musical Interlude (if Teddy Bear In The Locker is the most polished, Gaining Music might be my go-to story… Tough choice…)

Wordsmithing - My Timeless Goal
A Story With a Life of its Own
Friends With Benefits. Writing Benefits.
A Whole New World

Passion number four (4)

A small collection of travel-related books

And finally, what seems to be my most written about topic: Travel. Sure, they may not be my most read blog posts, but they are the ones that I find the most fun to write. And if I’m having fun writing them, there has to be a passion there, right? You can find links to all my travel related posts by clicking on this link here:

The Wandering Jedi

I’ve also mentioned a new and upcoming trip in this post here, but by clicking on The Wandering Jedi, there’s links to all my strictly travel-related posts at the bottom.

Adding it all together

Adding it all together, you get a very disorganized blog. Four passions in one online corner. It’s a tad crowded, don’t you think? Well, that’s soon to be rectified. I’m looking to make a dedicated blog for at least one of those passions of mine. Not saying that it will take that passion away from this blog here, but I’m hoping to make those posts a bit more polished and thorough than what you’ll find here. After all, this is the Distracted Jedi. And distractions are kind of my stock in trade.

Sinceriously,

-Chad

Live Your Life

Unplug and Breathe

Take a moment. Close your eyes. Breathe.

In a world where everything is turning electronic and everyone is connected 24/7, try disconnecting for a bit. Turn everything off but yourself. Just be. Just for a moment.

We’ve forgotten how to be us. Whether it’s the hunt to attract the opposite sex; seeking to impress friends and acquaintances; our peers; employers; random people on the street; even people we don’t like, everyone’s always trying to impress someone else. I’m here to tell you that you don’t have to.

Quite possibly the best name for a
candy store ever created

If it makes you happy to be your quirky self, be your quirky self. If you feel like going for a run, pumping out your motivational superhero soundtrack, go for that run! If you feel like sitting on a couch with a bowl of popcorn waiting for the next Kardashian to have a tantrum over something inconsequential to the rest of us, start popping those kernels! Do what makes you happy and screw the people that you spend your time trying to impress.

Like the opening of this article says, try disconnecting from everything but you for a moment. Go for a walk and turn your phone off (or better yet, leave it at home). Walk slowly, there’s no rush. Think about what truly makes you happy. When you have that figured out, do everything that you possibly can to do what makes you happy. It’s your life, and you only get to live it once. You have the obligation to yourself to be happy.

All this time I’ve been finding myself and I didn’t know I was lost.

Well, that’s not entirely true. Sometimes I do feel lost. Others, not so much. But regardless of whether I feel lost or not, I’m always finding myself. Trying to figure out what makes me happy and how to achieve that happiness. It’s a constant work in progress. Not just for me, but for everyone, whether you read my little blog or not.

What inspired this little melancholy/inspirational post (depending on your take from it)? A few things actually. First and foremost, a couple of conversations I’ve had with a couple of friends. And then there’s a couple of other blog posts that I’ve read. You can read them here and here. The take away? It’s life. It’s not perfect and it’s not what you might expect. But it’s yours to live. Live happy and realize that life’s imperfections are what make it worth living.

Sinceriously,

-Chad

Another Spring of Changes

This Spring has been another one full of changes for me. Not as drastic as last year, that’s for sure, but still some significant ones. The two biggest changes by far are work place and living accommodations.

The Changes:

A couple of the items that add personality to my office.
I also have a copy of The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings on my desk

Back in October I was offered another temp job doing administrative work. Not really my type of thing, but it paid well and I had temped there before making it a familiar environment. That job was supposed to last until the Christmas break. I wasn’t given an official end date and I just kept showing up. I mean, as long as I’m getting paid why not? Then back in March I was offered a permanent position there. In an economic climate where people are losing jobs everyday I would be an idiot to turn the opportunity down. This job actually means I have some financial security for the first time in my life. It pays the bills, and it'll be funding future plans that I have. And that's what matters the most.

When my lease was coming to an end at my apartment, my friend Cassie made the suggestion that I move in with her. Doing the math, I’d be saving upwards of $600/month and that sounded pretty damn good to me. Besides, some company and conversation every now and then seemed like a good idea. I decided to take her up on the offer and, truth be told, I’m pretty glad I did. Though I haven’t personalized the basement much (I haven’t done any decorating to make it ‘mine’), it’s comfortable here and home should be comfortable.

Looking Ahead:

I have a few plans for the future. I’ve kind of been house-hunting, but haven’t yet found one that is the right fit. And if I’m being completely honest I’m in no real rush. Cassie’s made it clear that she’s in no rush for me to leave, so as long as she can put up with me for a while I think I’m going to stay put.

Japan 2017, baby!!

I’m also wanting to go on another trip. This time I’m wanting to go to the Land of the Rising Sun. Japan has always been on my itinerary to travel to, and I’m currently in the position that I can do it. It won’t be for a while yet. About a year, in fact. But I can do planning and research in that time and you’d be amazed at how quickly one year can go by. Though my usual go-with-the-flow type of personality and non-planning will most likely take over when I actually DO go on my trip, it’s fun to look at everything you would like to do during a trip.

The Here and Now:

And that's been my year in a nutshell so far. A bit of changes and just trying to get into a routine for everything from writing to fitness, all while trying to spend time with friends. It's been a bit of a balancing act, really, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.

Sinceriously,

-Chad