Getting in a routine...

It has been a very long time since I have had a routine.

Get up.  Work.  Sleep.  Take two days off.  Repeat.  

I love it.

I am at the point I can finally say the transition is over, and I have recovered from the move from Michigan, having to start over again, and even the six months of craziness from being on call all the time. I am settling in to what most people would call a normal life, and I'm wrapping up in it like a warm blanket on a winter night.  There will be time enough later if I want to spice things up a bit, but I am one person this holiday season that is not going crazy.

That being said, I have nothing unusual to report.  I'm in a steady relationship, work is great, and my family is as stable as ever.  I enjoy my science fiction novels, nerdy television shows, and the occasional movie.  I chilled out a bit on photography after taking a ton of pictures in California, so I don't even have much to mention in that area.  For all purposes, today is as peaceful as my life can get.  

It is rare when you can look at your own life and have no drama, no discomfort, and have few problems that affect you dramatically.  Granted, my life is not perfect, and there are some things I would improve.  I would love to have more money, weigh a good deal less, and live in a sunny all drinks included resort, but barring that, I'm doing well here.  

I guess you could say that I am happy.  I know it is a temporary repreive before I am driven again to find something more.  This is my real rest, the downtime before the next step.  I do not know what that step will be, where it will take me, or what challenges I will face, but for now, I don't have to worry about it.  I can enjoy just being me again for now.

Sticking around...

It is almost 1am and I have to work tomorrow, but my mind has been running around on whether to continue with the blog or not.  Coming to a decision, once I started, has been much easier than I thought it was going to be.  I reviewed many of my posts from the last three and a half years, recalled some of the things I had written, and some I don't remember writing, and in the end, it is a no-brainer for me to continue writing.  

The concept of a journal is not new, nor is it new to publish a journal for others to read.  Traditionally, however, this has been done post-humously for people much more important and interesting than the average blogger today.  What is new is the idea of self-publishing personal life thoughts and events, and contributing my own history into the blogosphere has given me new perspective on myself.  After all, if you air all of your dirty laundry to the world, you have to consider first how the world is going to deal with it, and you, for doing so.  

That being said, I have written some articles that have surprised me in their depth and clear perspective on some of the most difficult events of my life.  Reading them now, knowing how things happened and what resulted from past decisions, I am proud of the things I have said on my blog, as I hope to be in the future.

In the last post, I had mentioned that life is pretty good right now, and there is nothing to write about.  Perhaps that is the stereotype of the tormented artist coming into play, because what happens when the artist is tormented no more?  Honestly, I have things pretty good, but while there is nothing to complain about particularly, there is still plenty to write about without delving into my no-zones of work or relationships.  I will say that work is awesome and I am employed by the best company in the world.  I've even had another awesome company try to steal me away already, but I have respectfully declined as I am enamored with what I do.

I want to expand my usage of video on the site.  I already have some of my photography posted, and will continue to share my photos on this site as well as through my Flickr feed, but video is the way of the internet, and Youtube has some innovative new features, including higher quality video that I am dying to play around with.  

I used to think when I worked for the security company that if I wasn't on call 24 hours a day I would get out and do a lot more.  Well, I work exactly 40 hours a week now, and I'm staying in most of the time.  It is time to change that, lest I become the anti-social sun-fearing hermit my ex-girlfriend used to make me out to be.  Honestly, I do like the sun, but I tend to like the light from an LCD display backlight a bit more...

With that said, I am going to get to bed.  This was post #498, so there is just one more before the big 5-0-0, which should hit about the beginning of next week!

Adios.

Image is everything...

Penny Arcade! - The Crisis

Silence as post #500 approaches...

This is post #496, and I have to admit that I have slowed posting down the last week, preparing for #500.  Every time I hit a major milestone, I go through a process of evaluation which includes assessing whether I should continue blogging, what I should blog about, and if I really want to keep going.  At this point, if I do stop, #500 is a good time for some closure, don't you think? 

In all honesty, I do not need the outlet as much as when I first started.  There is no major crisis that I am going through, and generally speaking life is pretty good.  As a rule, I do not blog about work related subjects, which with my current employment, covers several of the subjects that interest me that I used to write about.  

So, that is what I have been contemplating now, the very future of this blog.  I think if I continue, I need to give it a solid direction, whether revamping it as a photography site, or reworking it to a specific theme, it needs to be tightened up into some sort of cohesive sanity.  

I welcome any thoughts or comments, as always, and in the next few days I should be making a decision.  Have a great week!

Alex