field notes

12/12 GHR Check-In!

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This is the final check in of the year where I evaluate the progress on my Groundhog Resolutions. This is the 10th
annual attempt at creating life-long habits for myself. I’ve discovered
that right after the end of the year holidays I am not mentally or
physically capable of sticking with resolutions for the upcoming new
year. I need a break so I take the whole month of January off to reflect
and plan and start on 2/2 instead of 1/1.

After today I will take a break until next Groundhog’s Day (2/2/19).

Fun-

Get another tattoo: Coming soon #fail

More camping: Had more than a few great camping misadventures this year!

More skinny dipping: Think I’ll have to skip that this year

Learn Spanish more fluently: Downloaded the Duolingo app for practice but haven’t used it. Will work with the MissAdventurer

Join a book club: No decent bookclubs around town.

50 Books a year challenge: Nailed it! I’ll share my reading list soon.

Snail mail friend: Fail mail

Volunteer: Who’s got the time?

Fitness-

Kickboxing: The gym offers one class…during the day. One day a week. Fail.

Self-defense: Can’t defend myself. Fail

Yoga: Almost daily. Is it supposed to hurt when I stretch?

More 5 & 10k obstacle course racing: I finished the Warrior Dash again. Next year I want to do a minimum of 3

Consistent
training: Working out with Tracy is mutually beneficial. Accountability
may be the one thing I needed to maintain this.

Consistent
nutritional training: Really been enjoying more meals at home. Eating
out is becoming frustrating and disappointing. This is making my
decision to eat in easier

Hashing: I’m done for this season. My foot injury sidelined me.

Hiking: I want to explore more but again, foot. Time to hit some light, low elevation trails.

Geocaching: Will I renew my premium membership that is due at the end of this month? Lets find out.

Meditation: Ommm… this has been beneficial but not consistent.

Creative-

Complete
my book: I have been enjoying the process so far but It won’t get done
this year. There is too much I want to include and that involves more
research. Besides…still working on an ending.

Photo essay on a topic I am passionate about: Cold, crisp nights will help me round out my Tulsa After Dark series for the year.

Video log every month: This is so easy and yet it hasn’t been done.

Leave inspirational notes everywhere:

Year in photos album: Cannot wait to see what 2018 memories I’ll have at the EOY. I will work on it and display here soon.

Shoot more film: Film
is a precious commodity. A costly commodity. Sure, the Fuji camera is
fun but at almost $1.50 a sheet? I am convinced that I will buy a Canon
35mm soon though. It’ll be cheaper

DAM: I
have all the DSLR photos organized into yearly folders. Finally. Now to
sort the wheat from the chaff. Oh, and since I shut down Google photos, I
need to organize and integrate all these mobile pics from the years
too. I just doubled my work!

2018′s GHR has been about 50% successful. I’ll need to re-work some of these goals into something more manageable apparently. Overall, I think this was a positiv rebuilding year from a shitty 2017. Looking forward to an even better 2019. See you on 2/2!

Mind Mapping

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I’ve recently re-discovered the app MindNode, an app that helps diagram ideas and thoughts in a visual way.
Here’s an example of what a basic mind map structure looks like:

Just a simple diagram I generated about mind-mapping and why I use MindNode instead of other similar apps.

  • Cost: $15 for the unlocked iOS app. Or free if you don’t mind limited features.
  • Sync: Using iCloud, it syncs very well between my iPhone and iPad
  • Export: I use a Windows laptop, not a Mac. So I have to use a Windows version of mind mapping tool called FreeMind. Whatever I create on my iDevices will open on my laptop.

Maps can be used in a variety of ways of course. I have used mapping for
productivity, goals, notes, brainstorms, problem solving, book
summaries, task management, video summaries ( I take notes while
watching TED or podcasts). Here lately though, I have been using it to
map out plots and story ideas for the novels yet to be but on paper.
Here is a sneak peek of one of them:

Redacted of course! Can’t give it all away just yet.

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iPhone XR

This is a great blend of both budget and premium features. A $1200 phone for a $750 price. This has almost everything I want into an iPhone like a big, end-to-end screen, the A12 Bionic chip, dual sim card capability, augmented reality, great camera, long battery life, Face ID and of course, Animoji as seen below.

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The XR has a 12mp camera with f/1.8 aperature and smart HDR tech. Video is 4k quality. Portrait mode has advanced bokeh and depth control that can be edited after the snap. The front facing camera is 7mp quality with f/2.2 aperature, portait mode and portrait lighting effects.

The best part? I upgraded and ended up paying less for more.

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Physical vs Digital

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Inspired by the time-tested practice of marginalia, the art of
note-taking inside of books, I wanted to explore note taking in digital
books.

In most apps like Amazon’s Kindle, I can highlight, notate and save until next time I open it up like below:

But there are limits. When you purchase a book it is not owned but
rather it is licensed. You are borrowing it until at some point either
the publisher pulls it or the digital store no longer supports it. They
cannot be transferred, and at some point the digital purchase will be
deleted.

Also, you cannot pass down your digital books or their annotations to the next generation.

I
used to have crates full of books but after moving them around the
country more than a few times, plus the introduction of digital books, I
gave away or sold most of them because of the inconvenience. Now, I am
regretful.

The next time I want a book for a quick read I’ll
purchase a digital license and be done with it or borrow from the
library. For long term books to keep I will be grabbing a physical copy
and look forward to scribbling my notes and commentary.

A Non-Expert Guide To Writing

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Three important lessons for people who are inspiring writers and have never done this before:

  • Get a unique story idea.
  • Plot it out.
  • Research and study the hell out of your topic and genre.

A fourth lesson would be to stop focusing on all of those and just get to writing something. Anything. Please.

Get Lost

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“…to be lost is to be fully present, and to be fully present is to be
capable of being in uncertainty and mystery. And one does not get lost
but loses oneself, with the implication that it is a conscious choice, a
chosen surrender, a psychic state achievable through geography.”

                                                                      – A Field Guide To Getting Lost

iA Writer

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After several free trials, beta tests and tribulations of desktop writing software I have finally decided on my tool of choice. iA Writer helps me take notes and create the stories I want to tell (not
calling myself a writer or author yet).

The criteria I needed:

  • Cross-platform (Windows, iOS)
  • Inexpensive
  • Clean, simple and aesthetically pleasing
  • No overwhelming amount of tools that I’ll never use

Mission accomplished.

on the desktop ^

on the iPad ^

Create vs Consume

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I am reading and curating a lot lately for various reasons. Inspiration, mostly but also for reflection and knowledge.

What I am not doing lately is creating. I learn better by doing but haven’t been inspired yet.

This doesn’t make sense.
I’m torn. Should  I “just do it” and learn as I go or do I study then practice what I’ve learned?

Parts Unknown

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I enjoyed Anthony Bourdain’s travel and food shows when I could catch
them but will find time to watch more now that he has passed. Dry wit,
curiosity no non-sense bullshit and enjoyed life by meeting people over
good food in great places around the world. Inspiring.

Also inspiring was some of his attitudes:

“If I’m an advocate for anything, it’s to move. As far as you can, as
much as you can. Across the ocean, or simply across the river. The
extent to which you can walk in someone else’s shoes or at least eat
their food, it’s a plus for everybody. Open your mind, get up off the
couch, move.”

“I’m a big believer in momentum. As an
ex-abuser of drugs, I’m not a
person who should have any pleasurable interruptions. Inactivity, time
for reflection–these are not good for me. I work a lot, do a lot of
different things, but I think in some ways I’m overcompensating for the
inner, hidden knowledge that somewhere deep inside me there’s a lazy
hippie waiting to get out, that if I’m given the opportunity, I’d lay
down on the couch, turn on Adventure Time or The Simpsons, smoke a
joint, and lay there for the next six months. If I go to work, I’m going
to do things. I keep at them.”

“Create an esprit de corp, and a feeling that you are an elite,
that even if you have the shittiest jobs within a large organization,
you should feel proud of the fact that you’re part of something.
Recognize excellence. Celebrate weirdness, and innovation. Oddballs
should be cherished, if they can do something other people can’t do.”

“Who, after all, wants a ‘sensible’ relationship? Might it follow then
that we shouldn’t aspire to live always by sensible choices? That what
is good for us in the short term is not always the ‘best’ way? To live
always by what’s right now in front of our faces and the imperatives of
keeping things running smoothly for me and mine, good business, no
problems — that’s the kind of shopkeeper mentality that got the world
into a whole lot of shit back in the day. So, maybe, just maybe, fuck
sensible.”

“A few years back, I got the words, ‘I am certain of nothing’ tattooed
on my arm. It’s what makes travel what it is, an endless learning curve,
the joy of being wrong, of being confused.”

“The absolute certainty that no one was ever going to care about or buy or read Kitchen Confidential was
what allowed me to write it. I didn’t have to think about what people
expected. I didn’t care. As a result, I was able to write this book
quickly and without tormenting myself.”