Wednesday, December 27, 2006

But the Soul Still Burns

Periodic me, December 26th, 2006


Me, post wake up.



Me, pre gym



Me, post gym



Me, post hygiene



Me, post hair-gel and glasses



Me, post dinner



Me, pre writing



Me, post writing


Howdy gangsters, it has been forever. Way too long since I've sat down and talked. Tonight we remedy this.

I really wish I could find my headphones. It's been hard to get into a groove where I can just sit down and write lately. Music always seems to help this out, but since it's late at night I'd need to use headphones. Alas, I can't find the headphones, so I'm music-less.

I shan't let this stand in my way however. It is time to write, and write I shall.

Aha! I found a pseudo-pair of headphones. Victory is mine.

Last night me and my brothers stayed up till 4 AM playing counterstrike. Wow, that was good times. We got three computers hooked up in my room, we were at it for quite a while. We all went terrorist, and we played 6 hard bots. It was way intense, we were getting tactical and everything. One map Nathan ended up going something like 63:5 on his kill:death ratio. Wow, good crap. So much fun.

Christmas was really swell for me and my family. It's been so nice to be together. I hope that all of yours have been great as well.

The new year is coming up. Things are going to be changing for me. I'm really close to a huge schedule switch-up. Wessman has been putting the heat on me to join the newspaper. It's something that I'd like to do. I love to write, getting better at it is something that I'd love to do.

However, the newspaper class is 2a, and that's junior choir. I'm not going to switch out of that, but Wessman said I could hop into 3a, which is the litmag class. He said he'd teach me all that intro to journalism stuff, have me do as much as I could from there, and then come in full time next year.

Sounds like kicks and giggles, especially considering who else is in the litmag class. It'd be a party.

But, on the other hand, arranging that with the schedule will result in a big shake-up. The current schedule (Figure A) will end up looking something like this (Figure B).

Figure A: Figure B:

Seminary Seminary
Junior Choir Junior Choir
History Litmag
Athletics English AP (Parrish)
~ ~
Chem AP Chem AP
Precalc History AP
English AP (Harward) Precalc
Physics AP Physics AP

See, if this was the first week of school, I'd jump all over this. By all means, figure B looks attractive. From a friend standpoint, I'd lose Kyle and Nick in math, Kyle and Shelton in History, and Jason in English. Inversely, I would gain Nick in history, and Kyle and Nick and everyone else in English.

I don't know. It sorta feels like figure B is just a big betrayal of my English class. I'll be the first to admit that it's not the best, but it has grown on me. We're all in it together in there. I'd feel like the baseball player that suddenly got called up from the minor leagues to play with the big kids. How do you face your team after that? All the sudden I stand up and hop the fence towards greener pastures? What about Jason, and Katie, and Peter, and Austin? What about Harward, and Kevin, and Wiley? Can I just get up and leave them without a pitcher halfway through the game?

It's a tough call. I want your guys' help on this. Let me know what you think I ought to do.

So, this whole blogging business. It's something that I love to do, it's something that I think is useful. It's a great tool for me, and I'm looking to expand my base.

Of course, one could argue that I should get my initial base established before I attempt to branch out into new territory. It's a valid point, one that I'm still mulling over in my head. The new year is going to bring some new ideas to the blog-pool. We'll all see it when it gets here, eh?

Junior Jazz is coming up. It's funny how much of a priority it has become. I'm not wary of saying that I'm much more dedicated to my Jr Jazz training than I am to my indoor track training. Indoor track has been hard for me lately, I'm in another one of those troughs.

I'm sure you've noticed the trend before; it's hard to miss. I'm constantly going through cycles. The most evident of these cycles is my run-forever debate. I vary between two extremes. One week I'll be so dedicated to running and dropping my times that I'll work like an animal and take it to the next level. The next week I'll be unable to remember why I run, and consider hopping out and peddling my destiny elsewhere.

Hmm... peddling my destiny. I really like that phrase.

But, the moral of the story, is that for a while now I've been on the low end of the excitement spectrum. I'm tired of this running business. I know that it'll come back to me. It's just really hard to do a good workout when I'm a lot more interested in lifting and practicing my basketball than in building my distance.

Alas, tis my fate. What would life be like if I didn't run? It scares me; I don't know. I know that I've got to keep working out. It's very important for me to get good exercise; it's really beneficial to my kidneys in 20 years.

(Harward was right... I use comma splices like none other)

But, what if I can get my workout without being on the team? What if I could run when I wanted to, and not work on my speed or hills? What if I could build some muscle mass? What if I could drive myself hard enough to do ten-minute-abs by myself every night, and 40 push ups before bed? What if I could prevent heart failure without a coach? What would life be like?

Will I ever find out? I don't know.

I'm listening to U2 right now. Good band.

These pseudo-earphones are totally hurting my ears. Maybe it's cause I had them in backwards. Hmm.

Awww, I just got to talk to my sister for a long time about stuff. That was nice, she's the best.

I want to have some new ideas to run around with. Ideas like the power gym. Not exactly practical, but a cool idea nonetheless. Ideas like that can occupy me for a very long time you see.
There's quite a few phases that an idea goes through, check it out.

Phase One: Conception
This is the phase where the initial epiphany strikes my brain. I start to think and talk really fast, and I can't stop smiling. Every few seconds I'll stop moving, gasp, and verbalize a statement along the lines of "Oh sick!" when I realize the implications and possibilities involved. I'm building the idea as I go, I have no idea where it will lead. It's a race to the end. Way fast, way excited.

Phase Two: Retread
After I've run and found the treasure at the end of the tunnel, I have to walk back and review. This phase is a more cautious peek at the images and concepts that blazed past my neurons a few moments ago. It is slower and more downbeat. It's generally more depressing; it is here that I discover flaws in my plan for the first time. This phase is where I have to stop and ask "Is this really possible?" It's a total shakedown of the idea, trying to find the holes.

Phase Three: Duct Tape
Phase three is a lot like the force. You can kill bad guys with it. After I find the holes during phase two, I've got to solve them in phase three. I'm too excited to give up on the idea; I won't let diminutive holes in my logic get in the way. I attack these problems with a surge of headstrong and entirely uncautious barrage of solutions. It is very common that these solutions are more creative and clever than my initial idea. The solutions have problems and holes of their own. Phase Three is Phase One times a million.

Phase Four: Backburner
After I've run through the idea a few times and found it relatively sound, it loses its luster. It's a challenge to prove to myself that the idea is viable, but after that's taken care of I'm content to go back to normal life. As I brush my teeth, the idea is kicking around somewhere in the back of my mind. It's taking up minimal processing power. It exists, but not in the forefront.

Phase Five: Alternative
A few days later the ghosts in the system will manifest themselves and spark a mutation in the meme. Another Oh-sick will be vocalized, and I'll realize that this idea can apply to too! Not just minivans like I thought first, but elevators! This opens up a whole new rush. I've got the idea all stapled out, now I'm just filling in the template. Replace minivan with elevator and repeat the entire run through process. It's a side not really. The same idea just realized it can apply to something else, it's terribly exciting.

Phase Six: Appointment for 3 PM wednesday?
The good ideas come here. I will come one evening and post to my heart's content. I throw the whole idea down from start to finish. As I write, new ideas come in and I write them as well. It takes me at least an hour, but in the end I've got an intense feeling of satisfaction and pride. I cemented the idea, it is finished.

Phase Seven: Review
Months later I'll re-read what I wrote. I'm always surprised at how dramatic I managed to make it sound. I read and am taken aback by my claims that the world is going to end if we don't commercialize road signs, or pedal our way to freedom from foreign oil. I like what I read, and I explore the whole idea just one more time. It's a good feeling.

So yeah, that's the way an idea works. It's a long process, but I love it. Some ideas don't make it through the whole journey. In fact, most don't.

It is, however, my goal, to get more ideas through the mill. I want to post more ideas. They make for a fun post, and my ideas are always enriched by the thought process it takes to write them. Expect more.

So, I've got some stuff to work on. I'm going to get to brainstorming. I'm going to take a big review of the stuff that I've written in the past. I'm undertaking a project to rewrite the good stuff.

I'm so proud of this blog. I love it, it's got a hefty pile of me in it. But really, it's just one giant rough draft. I like some of the ideas that I've written down in here a lot. In the coming weeks I'm going to go through and reanalyze and rewrite the good ones. I'll put some polish on them, it'll be good.

Yeah, It's bed time. I hope that you all have a good night. Life keeps trucking along. Keep learning and getting better.

I'll see you all at the region dance this Saturday. Don't forget it, it's going to be intense.

G'night all. Have a good one.

6 comments:

Courtney said...

region dance for life.

if you leave our history class, i might cry. :( that's the only class we have together! we've always had at least one class together! don't ruin it! it's already bad enough that we don't sit by each other. i don't laugh nearly as much! :(

other than that...sigh...i hate to say it, but litmag/newspaper would be good for you. you would have fun, you're already an insane writer, and it would make you better...that's a scary thought.

but if you do decide to make the change, remember me. sitting in rockwells class. not laughing.

Nick said...

Since when do I have history 2B? 2A, buddy. But you could easily (probably) switch into history 3B and stay in precalc. Everybody knows you're the only reason I'm getting an A.

But yeah, you're amazing at writing. And I'd be glad to see an actual sense of humor in that dismal publication they call the Warrior Ledger. I'm just kidding, Mr. Wessman, stop gnawing at my ankles.

Good luck with... everything. My ideas never get to phase one on your scale. I suck at that.

M-smash said...

Come to english...come to english....there's less writing. unless you're into that of course...but on the other hand, the room is claustrophobic with satire.

Oh and, come to 3B history, no one talks in that class...and heck, we definitely need another nerd in precalc.

Plus, I would much rather read a whole encyclopedia written by you than the warrior ledger. because lets face it, you put the the fun in funny.

Meliss said...

Wouldn't do much to me if you switched your schedule around. But it seems that there are pros and cons to both sides. Your choice. If it becomes difficult to decide, you may want to make a chart of the pros and cons. It helps me decide. :D

Anonymous said...

Thatcher no!!!!! You CAN'T leave English! I would be seriously depressed. You contribute so much to the class! Plus you and Harward....you can't beat that. You actually tell him like it is. You have to stay! Please. And math?! :( If you can help it, keep it like it is. I guess I'd understand though if you HAD to change. :(

Rachel Frost said...

Hey, I like having you in my math class. But if you switched, I guess you'd be in my English class so it works out right? Well, go for what works the best for you. To be honest, it's not our decision. If you want to write, then write! If it's what you want to do, I'm behind you one-hundred percent. If not, well, I'm still behind you. :)