2010/11/17

Craftsmanship

I’m now six months out of college. Only. Only?! College was an entire lifetime away. One my favorite lessons learned since then has to do with all the interesting people I’ve met since then, all of whom have one thing in common… keep reading.

The way I see it, there are those who are unable to work, perhaps some who are not compelled to work, those who hate their work, some who are so-so about their work, and finally, we have those who love their work. They love what they do. They didn’t necessarily imagine themselves doing this job at the ripe age of 3, 15 or 22, but they fell into it, the stars aligned, and bada-bing, bada-boom – a happy match between occupation and human being. This could result from a variety of combinations of factors such as sociable coworkers, bomb-ass bosses, paid vacation days, meaningful duties, and a six-figure salary. Or something.

And then… there are those who do what they love. These are the interesting people whom I’ve found myself running into on a weekly basis. Cynthia loves making music. Ann loves inspiring and helping people in their careers. Tomas loves teaching. Suzanne loves getting dressed up and loves bringing people together. Len loves performing and teaching music. Joy loves acting and script-writing.

I want to add them to my treasure chest of remarkable people. Granted, their successes in their fields of favor are irrelevant to me; their tricks of trade are useless in my trade of choice.
I admire them for the tireless energy they put into their craft. There aren’t enough hours for these people! Their motivation is genuine; while their audience appreciates their product, each masterpiece is loved most by its creator.

I look up to these people because they are constantly creating opportunities for themselves. Unfortunately, another feature which these people share is that riches are not guaranteed for musicians, actors, or teaching. Rather than focus on making money, then, they focus on making connections. You can’t always get what you need with money, but you can find people to help you in a variety of ways. These people trade. These people barter. These people have helped me recognize my own skills and my own resources and have inspired me to find ways to use these to help them. I think it’s safe to assume that they continue to do the same with everyone else they meet. Spend a few minutes with these people, and you’ll find yourself connected to someone who can get you free food, connect you with a record label, provide a venue for an open mic night, lend you a car, help you move into your new apartment, teach you how to cook a new dish… the list goes on. My treasure chest people are always connected with others because they have to be in order to keep doing what they do.

They are also always connected because their happiness is infectious. I submit that they are such happy people because they get to do what they love. I admire them not only because they are so happy, and not only because their joy is contagious, but because they all have developed an extensive fan base of supporters who are excited to watch them achieve their dreams.

I’m still carving away at an unknown path before me. I can honestly say that I’m not doing what I love – yet (besides writing, which I do love). My impatience with myself is overwhelming at the moment, but I hope that’s only because I’m very close to getting to where I need to be. Just gotta keep at it…
= = =
Word Count: 607
Soft Total: 1,319

2010/11/12

11.11.11

I spent a bit of time yesterday thinking about the date. The date. Catch that? It's hard to emphasize capital "The" when it is at the beginning of the sentence. Let's try this: The date. As in, calendar date.

I'm not the only one that does this from time to time, date to date. People count down the days to and celebrate days like 08.09.10 (kudos to those who caught the 08.09.10 11:12:13 moment in time); my senior ditch day in high school was 06.06.06; less than one year after my birth, we had such a date as 6.7.89. Needless to say, I was unable to fully appreciate the charm of said date the day of, but surely others in the world were ahh-ing and ooh-ing (while I was babbling and cooing).

Anyway, when these funny calendar days arrive, I spend a second thinking about it, and then spend all the rest of the seconds in the day not thinking about it. Because... you know, whatever. Dun' matter.

But 364 days from now, nearly to the minute, it will be 11.11.11 11:11:11. That's kind of cool. Almost noteworthy. In fact, about 5 years ago, a good childhood friend of mine announced to us that she and her then-boyfriend were going to get married on this date. I don't think that this wedding is going to happen anymore, but that's not the point. The point is...

The point is...

It's fun to count, and count down, and set landmarks for yourself, and count on yourself -- and others -- to meet goals on said landmarks.

So, back to what I was saying about yesterday and thinking about the date. To be more precise, I was doing my own planning for something amazing to happen one year from now. More amazing than 11.11.11 11:11:11, even though that is when it will take place. The amazing thing, that is.

Should I visit somewhere unimagined? Take a "next big step" in my life (whatever that may be)? Tattoo? Sky dive? Nov. 11th is Veterans Day and we'll have a 3-day holiday (Fri-Sun) that weekend in November. That gives me a bit of leeway. But who would I do this amazing thing with... who will I still be close enough to one year from now that we can have the foresight to plan something so big together?

I came up with a lot of dead ends. Boring logistics started getting in the way of my planning, taking away all my momentum. Stupid logistics.

Then I realized that my problem is that my thinking was too abrupt. I was looking for an amazing something that would give me immediate and even short-lived gratification. In fact, everything that made my list was a bit outside of my character (I love my body too much to get a tattoo). I want something that I can work towards little by little for a year and then celebrate on November 11th, 2011. I'll work on it by myself if I have to.

So, here it is, the amazing thing that I will do in celebration of Nov. 11th, 2011. Or rather, the amazing thing that I will do and celebrate for doing on Nov. 11th, 2011.

I, April Isabel, will write 111,111 words-worth of blog/journal entries by the 11th of November in the year 2011.

OK, OK, sorry if you're disappointed and sorry that I'm so dreadfully boring, but really, this is important to me.

Everyone talks about how oh-so-busy they are and how they're too busy to scratch a few meaningful words down on paper, even if those words are sparse and meaningful only to the writer. No offense, busy people. Truth is, I'm not one of those people. I've got the time. I've even got the words. What I don't have is the discipline. And hey, while I'm at it, confessing my faults and all to you, anonymous reader, I don't have the courage either (courage, on the other hand, is an entirely different subject, not one for here or now).

OK, it's time for one year of discipline and one year of writing. Hopefully, this will lead to one year of reflecting, one year of practicing writing, one year of trying out new words and ideas, and one year of self-given alone time.

Who knows, maybe this one year will lead to many years of writing.

= = =

Word Count: 712.