Whoa now, slow down there horsey!

I think one of the reasons people get so stressed is because of the deadlines we set for ourselves, whether consciously or unconsciously. We set timetables and routines on our lives to give us structures and meanings. These help us get out of bed every day and get us places on time; they give us the persona of a reliable human being.

The problem is that in a very short time all of us can become locked into and even dependent on these deadlines and structures we put on our lives. Example: getting up at exactly the same time every day to shower, shave, eat something quick, get in the car and take the exact same route to work listening to the same radio station. Then going to work where you most likely do essentially the same thing each day to end at approximately the same time to go back home the same way (still listening to the same station). In this scenario, you might change from your work clothes (or at least change the shirt), but then you go right to your computer. If it's a laptop, you bring it near the TV and you blog/Facebook before eating dinner; married or not. You probably eat, then you check the Internet stuff again before going to bed. You do it all again the same day.

In this scenario, I don't say you necessarily meaning "you" the reader, but it definitely doesn't apply to me. If you look at my posting dates you can tell I rarely go on here, although I really should do it a tad more than I have been. My wife is an avid internet poster, on the other hand, and you can always tell what's going on with us through her. Her habits are pretty standard, but I start to get stuck in a rut if everything gets to be routine like that.

I compulsively change my habits to avoid that sort of rut. I randomly change the time on my alarm (although I make sure I still get to work on time), and sometimes hit snooze. Sometimes I shower at night, sometimes in the morning. Although I usually go the same way to work in the morning (it works, and getting there on time is important), I generally have about 4-5 different routes home to choose from. I usually listen to sports talk radio, but sometimes I don't. Sometimes I drive in silence; or I listen to something else. There are a few things I do in the same order each day at work, but I usually do things differently each day. I don't like my job very much, so if I can at least mix things up it makes it a little more bearable.

It sounds weird and crazy, but consider how much control you really have over your life. Wouldn't it be nice to break out of the routine you've put yourself in and just find a new way to do what you're already doing? It may not even be the most efficient way, but it gives you the opportunity to be creative in a way you are not often able. Something to think about.

So anyway, all that just gushed out of me; the title of this is more related to another thought altogether. A lot is happening this year, and it's almost July already! Sheesh! In this half of the year, Abigail's already finished nursing school and taken her boards, both Matt & Angela and Abigail and I have bought houses, my mom is choosing another career, my dad has changed to another department, two of my brothers got laid off, my older sister bought and sold a house (moved to another part of CO), my little sis is now a senior in high school, Travis is leaving next month for the Army, my dog moved in with us, and I traded in the PSP!

That is the first six months in a very small nutshell, but it's been an interesting ride. I just want a breather week...can I just take a week off to play the X box and not have anything interesting happen? I really miss my X box, and the halcyon days of youth.

Behold, the shiny newness!

You have all waited patiently, although some more than others, and now I have unveiled my new creation: the newest incarnation of the Scott Blog! In all seriousness, this has actually taken me a few days to put together, so I hope you like it. Part of the delay was all of the archived postings from my old MySpace blog, which my subscribers may have noticed already. If not, check the Blog Archive on the right side and you will notice 17 "new" posts in addition to this one.

I manipulated the post dates (and times) so they would come out as if they were posted on the day I had posted the original entry on MySpace. You're impressed, I know. The reason for that is I have finally done what I've been saying I'd do all along and deleted my MySpace account. Didn't see any use for it any more so I cut off the dead weight, so to speak. Now all I have is this and Facebook. Some day I may get a Twitter account, but that's not a huge priority right now.

Hopefully someone else appreciates the new game on here as much as I do...it has penguins!!! I didn't get rid of Hangman; it's just on the bottom now. I may put it back on the top but under Conquer Antarctica...any thoughts? I'm really pleased with how this has turned out and I hope you are too. Please be sure to let me know what you think as I've worked hard the last few days.

Lastly, I did run a spell check on the old entries but aside from that they are there just as I wrote them then, so feel free to comment on them. It was a fun treat to go back and look at some of my thoughts during the past couple of years. Unfortunately due to formatting errors with Word I actually lost the very first two or three I made, but oh well; I got most of them.

I sense a new dawn approaching...

The tides fade in and out, my friends, as the planet spins on its axis and continues on its orbit. One might think it is all indifferent to our little lives, but a pulse resounds in the night that says differently.

From the highest mountains of Kilimanjaro and Fuji, to the Mariana Trench where no man has ventured, it resonates. All across the continents, Antarctic and Arctic alike, polar bears and penguins alike both hear it and wonder, and are connected for that brief instant.

You can hear its beat from Red Square in Moscow to St. Stephen's Tower in London, to the Parthenon of Greece. Even in the darkest jungles of Africa, you can hear this pulse. It resounds across America, from east coast to west coast.

It tells us something big is about to happen. Are you ready? Your life as you know it may change tomorrow.

Micro post

Okay, this is totally weird. I found a little application for my Windows sidebar that lets me post on Blogger without even opening up my browser...interesting. I may be posting more often. Who knows? I'll probably forget I have this app, but it's neat to have. :-)

Anyway, I should probably go to bed. I'm sure my wife is already asleep, but I do have work tomorrow. (sigh)

Can you feel the electricity in the air?

Something is coming...you can feel it in the currents as they rush toward you on the morning breeze. A very special blog update will be coming soon that will overshadow all my other blog updates, and make you feel all warm and tingly inside when you see it. In the meantime, take a few minutes and enjoy the first part of a few hours of my time; the updated Picasa albums! Go down this page and you will see my links on the right side; you can access the public page from there.

The aforementioned update should be on here by Saturday night. I know you're breathless with anticipation, but please stop flooding me with all of the E-mails and comments you've been sending me up to this point, okay? It's embarrassing. :-) (I'm pretty sure no one reads this...)

PS- The new profile picture is from Prom 2004. Yes, I know, very James Bond; that really is a Walther I'm holding.

Treasure trove

One of the nice things about moving is how many things one finds that they have not seen in a long time. Among the more curious things I have discovered was within the past hour, though. I have a room set apart in my house for my own use as an office/study, and so I have been using my desktop computer again. Part of the reason it stopped being used before is that the system files are corrputed and I will eventually have to buy a new Windows disk.

Anyway, I have at least gotten it to work again and will be able to use it as a backup computer for writing, among other things. I also found a bunch of old pictures and documents that I haven't seen since before I got married, so that was kind of fun. They were all old pictures of Abigail and I together and a few of my friends and I (I have a few of you, Andrew), and it made me smile. I am not necessarily nostalgic for my high school days, but there were some good times that I had forgotten, and I also remember having more hair then. :-)

I know it's been a really long time since a proper update, and sadly this will not be it, but I have at least given you something to let you know I'm not dead. I have a project underway to make it all worth it to the four of you who supposedly follow this silly little blog, and maybe I'll even start writing regularly. Who knows anything?

Hope all is well,
~Scott