top ten

I thought it’d be funny to put together a top ten list of hobby/project/complete-lack-of-focus endeavors I’ve come up with over the past year. I had a big pool to choose from. Amazingly enough, I actually managed to accomplish some of these things.

10. Write a novel.
9. Train for a marathon
8. Create an old-school videogame.
7. Write a screenplay
6. Photography
5. Painting
4. Cooking (in the culinary genius sense of the word)
3. Start reading again
2. Record

And number 1 on this list…by a huge margin:













1. Claymation (and I’m not shitting you).

So. What haven’t I accomplished? I have not created an old-school videogame. There is a lot of nostalgia to these games of yore. I sat in front of that C64 for hours as a whipper-snapper. I felt a burning desire to be part of that nostalgia – to make it a living breathing thing. The brilliant idea was hatched months ago. I proposed a creative partnership with good ol’ Brian. He went along with me, full well knowing this project would be forgotten in a week. I scribbled some notes. I might’ve even made a map. Suffice to say, she died on the table. I still think it’s a neat, albeit geeky idea.

I can’t say that I’ve written that screenplay yet, but that is on the near-long term list of goals. By near-long term I mean, those things I can’t quite fit into my schedule right now, but anticipate on making time for them in the next several months. I’ve put photography on that list. I don’t have a professional-grade camera, but I do see a lot of great subjects on my commute to work. Photography is a beautiful art from, and it certainly wouldn’t hurt to try. Painting is on this list. The painting thing is a little more long-long term. It’s dependent on Jen McBusy-MBA-student-erson having the free time to show me the ropes. I think it’d be a good co-activity.

I love to eat. This is no secret. It seemed a logical progression that I would love to cook. I do enjoy cooking, don’t get me wrong. But, come the end of the day (on the days I actually make it home), I’m usually pretty wiped. Cooking from scratch thus becomes a painful, uninspiring, and quite messy ordeal. That’s not to say I won’t cook from time to time. Jen certainly enjoys it. However, serious-cooking likely won’t be a frequent event. A couple times a month I might get creative. Until then, the world is welcome to enjoy a mean veggie-burger/pita/melted-cheese-tomatoey-treat. Lean cuisine has these kick ass frozen meals in a bag. There is some stirring involved, but I can stir “occasionally” without feeling too pressed. A meal in a bag. Brilliant.

Probably one of the most ridiculous things to ever flow past my lips: “Jen, I’m going to do claymation.” It was an odd mix of emotions on her face. Mostly, her expression said something to the effect of “Who are you?” I really don’t know where this idea came from. I mean, I loved playing with clay as a kid. Not to mention, claymation is truly a great lost art. I think the clay I purchased came out of the box once. And as I write this, I’m completely cracking up. I think I was serious about it, too.

So, what did I accomplish this year? I wrote that novel. Related to that, I’ve start reading again and have read some damn good books. Suffice to say, my drive as a writer is both healthy and present. I’ve recorded over the past 8 months, and I am still in the process of recording for both bands. Now, I haven’t officially started training for a marathon, but I do run four to six days a week. I think that’s a good start.

My ass looks so spectacular.