Journal

2023: Chapter One

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Today is the day! It is February, 2nd, 2023 and it is time to start a new chapter for the new year’s resolutions.

Here is a quick list of things I want to do for the new year:

  • Learn Spanish
  • More meditation & yoga
  • Organize the photo Archive as a database
  • Minimalism/essentialism
  • Quit smoking
  • No alcohol
  • Lower BP
  • Lose 20 pounds

Learn Spanish

My goal of learning Spanish kicked off 35 days ago, on December 28, according to DuoLingo, my language app. 35-day streak is fairly impressive if you know me at all. I’ve had little opportunity in applying what I’ve learned in the real world but cannot wait to have conversations with the Spanish-speaking community this year.

Duolingo language app.

Meditation and yoga almost daily.

I’ve prepped for these goals by investing in a few Apple software helpers such as Apple Fitness+ and Music for guided meditation and workouts. Subscribing to specific podcasts have been helpful too. A new padded floor mat has been added and I am looking forward to more fitness, flexibility and patience.

Yoga & Meditation programs with Apple Fitness+ 

Photography Goals

Learning Adobe photography software tools should be easy for me  after all these years but I’ve overlooked the fundamentals.
But this year I want to do a deep dive. I have all these tools but feel like I am scratching the surface and want to maximize the tools I have.  I’ve put in a lot of work these past thirty years but there is a need for photo archive organization. The end result will be an organized archive system where I can easily find and use any one photo on demand.

Minimalism and essentialism

My brain toggles on/off when it relates to stuff. I need this or that until I get bored with it and then accumulate more stuff that I don’t use. Well this year, the toggle is in “OFF” mode. It’s time to purge down to the essentials and keep only the things I use and enjoy. Everything else is…just that.

Quit smoking

The tobacco pipe is in use as I write this on February 1 in anticipation of quitting by February 2. What tobacco remains now will be destroyed, the pipe cleaned and accessories put away in storage. I am over smoking and the removal of the tobacco pipe paraphernalia should help. This will help me lower my blood pressure and overall health.

This is now in a storage bin

No Alchohol

Alcohol consumption is not difficult for me, and I can refrain even while at a bar with friends. This is an easy one so I should see less weight and overall health as a result.

Lower Blood pressure

Priority one. Less, salt. Less sugar. Less eating out. Increase my cardio with more walking, yoga. More supplements and eventually the diuretic prescription again. All of this should help me lower my weight and eventually those readings will come down.

Lose 20 pounds

In the past few years, I maxed out at 217.4 pounds. That isn’t great for a 5’7″ frame. I am currently down to 204.4 pounds on February 1. My goals is to get down to 185 pounds. 175 is better, but let’s be realistic. The issue here is nutrition. The job has me out in the field for 8-10 hours daily and the temptation to eat out is strong. But the job is also a physical one so I should take advantage of all that lifting and walking.

In the past 10 years or so, I have attempted a variation of resolution themes in an attempt to hold myself accountable, and all of them have had limited success. The first few attempts were centered around my resolutions and a monthly check-in by way of accountability. For ten years I would focus on what I called Groundhog Day Resolutions. The kickoff would always start on February 2nd or 2/2. This was a little over a month after the western calendar of New Year’s Day on January 1st.

This year I want to do a variation of a monthly accountability check-in. I mentioned the “Groundhog Day Resolutions” and its limited success. While I believe the theory behind those initiatives were sound, the practice was not. So it’s time to have a re-think about the process.

In 2023, I am writing a book on it. This year I am thinking of each month of this year as its own chapter in a book. I’ll do a chapter review on the same date that corresponds with the month.

Example: The book will start on February 2 (2/2) and will go on until March 3rd or 3/3. On 3/3 I will conduct a review of the previous month, and so on and so forth. With the chapter review, I’ll throw in some highlights of the previous month in hope that by the end of the year (11/11), I’ll have written a book I can be proud of.

It’s time to get to writing that book and start a new chapter. See you on March 3rd for a review of Chapter 1.

An Offshoot Of Meditation

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““Journaling is an offshoot of meditation—a type of introspection where a record of events is welcome. It doesn’t have to mean the record is permanent. In fact, it’s probably better as ephemeral—permanently locked behind a password. But, the fact that it exists is a comfort in itself.”     – CJ Chilvers

2023: Preface

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Let’s be honest, hardly anyone is in the right frame of mind to create and stick to their resolutions in a new year. We expect too much in January, so I say don’t start working on resolutions until February. There are some people, believe it or not that won’t start until late March at the time of the Spring Equinox.

In the past 10 years or so, I have attempted a variation of resolution themes in an attempt to hold myself accountable, and all of them have had limited success. The first few attempts were centered around my resolutions and a monthly check-in by way of accountability. For ten years I would focus on what I called Groundhog Day Resolutions. The kickoff would always start on February 2nd or 2/2. This was a little over a month after the western calendar of New Year’s Day on January 1st.

Now remember, during the end of the year, or the holiday season, some of us have a habit of eating too much food and drinking too much alcohol in our celebrations. I have a birthday in December so there is typically a bonus weekend of revelry. The point is, most of us are in no shape mentally, physically or spiritually to plan and stick to a resolution. We want to change and we need to change those habits, but we aren’t prepared to act on our resolutions, let alone stick with them.

For me, after the 2/2 kick-off I would do the best I could and then check in with myself on March 3rd, or 3/3. “How did I do last month?” “What could I have done better?” “What do I need to do to get back on track by this time next month?” “How will I reward myself for accomplishing that goal?” I would do the best I could and then check in with myself on 4/4, or April 4th. The next month would be 5/5, 6/6, etc until the target date of November 11th. This was to be the end goal for the year, right before the next holiday season. The end goal of having nine months focused on those resolutions, correcting bad habits, accomplishing intentions and hitting those targets should be a success.

By allowing ourselves, myself some slack for the months of November/December/January, I can regroup, think and prepare myself for the next year of self improvements. These three months make up a winter season in the northern hemisphere where our bodies want to go into hibernation mode. The Winter Equinox is a time to hunker down, stay warm, create, read and prepare for the next season.

This year I want to do a variation of a monthly accountability check-in. I mentioned the “Groundhog Day Resolutions” and its limited success. While I believe the theory behind those initiatives were sound, the practice was not. So it’s time to have a re-think about the process.

In 2023, I am writing a book on it. Not a literal book, no, that is another goal/initiative in itself. This year I am thinking of each month of this year as its own chapter in a book. I’ll do a chapter review on the same date that corresponds with the month.

Example: The book will start on February 2 (2/2) and will go on until March 3rd or 3/3. On 3/3 I will conduct a review of the previous month, and so on and so forth. With the chapter review, I’ll throw in some highlights of the previous month in hope that by the end of the year (11/11), I’ll have written a book I can be proud of.

This post and the accompanying podcast on my website is the Preface of the book. On November 11th, at the end of the book, I will have a year-end review of those goals and resolutions as an afterward. I’ll throw in an Acknowledgment page, references and highlights of each month- just like a book!

My advice to anyone reading is to not set goals, expectations or resolutions for yourself in the beginning of the calendar year. Take some time off for yourself to plan, prepare for success in your habit-changing journey. Be kind to yourself, prepare to pick yourself up when you fall. Check-in with yourself frequently. Analyze the process to see what works and what does not. Then recalibrate the situation to be more successful. I am wishing you well and I am going to get busy on preparing and researching my 2023 book of resolutions.

A quick list of things (subject to change) I want to do for the new year:

  • Learn Spanish
  • More meditation & yoga
  • Learn Adobe Bridge, PS and LR more
  • Organize the photo Archive as a database
  • Minimalism/essentialism
  • Quit smoking
  • No alcohol
  • Lower BP
  • Lose 20 pounds

Learn Spanish with the Duolingo app in small increments everyday. Attempt to retain it by using it in the real world as opposed to just going through the lessons and forgetting it. I know people who have done this and with good results. Success in this will be able to have conversational Spanish by the end of 2023.

Meditation and yoga almost daily. I have the software to do so such as Apple Fitness + and Music meditation. Guided podcasts, etc. I just grabbed a new padded floor mat to help with this. Success here will be lower BP, increased flexibility, calmer mind, more patience.

Learning Adobe products should be easy. I have the fundamentals down because I’ve been using it for years. But I want a deep dive. This will come in handy for my photo archive organization. The end result will be an organized archive system where I can easily find and use any one photo on demand.

I am over smoking and the removal of the tobacco pipe paraphenalia should help. I need to purchase some gum or mints to help with those cravings. This will help me breathe easier, lower my BP and overall health.

Stopping alcohol consumption is not difficult for me, even when I am at a bar I can refrain. I should see less weight and overall health as a result.

Lowering my BP should be my number one priority this year. Less, salt. Less sugar. Less eating out. Increase my cardio with more walking, yoga. More supplements and eventually the diuretic prescription again. All of this should help me lower my weight and eventually those readings will come down.

When I fall (and I will fall), get back up, learn from my mistakes, and continue pushing forward because failure is a byproduct of growth. It’s all part of the process. If I plan on recycling the exact resolution I’ve made every year since 2018, perhaps it’s time to try something different. Now that I have the right tools, making 2023 the year I follow through on my resolutions is entirely up to me.

Bonus: This text is also in audio form as well on the Audio Mojo podcast. Check it out on the Podcast page!

ARTifical

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I toyed around with DALL-E today and asked for a random but specific depiction of “a dark background oil painting of an intelligent looking fox smoking his tobacco pipe while working on his MacBook”

And here are the results. I think this is a brilliant use of modern technology.

But is it art?

Amazon Kindle

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After years of dragging my feet, I have finally purchased not one, but two, Amazon Kindle e-reader devices.

The first was a cheap ($15) Fire tablet from a pawn shop. I had no intention of buying anything, just a passing curiosity but then I saw it and thought, “Why not have a dedicated reader?”. I liked it. I enjoyed having a smaller tablet to read myself to sleep with every night as opposed to a large iPad or my phone. However, the weight of the tablet, the highly reflective, smudgy, glass screen and the fact that the tablet had the capability for distractions (apps) had me wondering if I should just go back to what I had using the iPhone instead.

I came across the Kindle Paperwhite edition yesterday and took another look at the possibilities. This is a minimal, reading-focused, no distraction reader that has an amazing glare-free screen that weighs less than nothing. Perfect. So I left the store and stewed on it. Not two hours later I went back and purchased.

After signing in to a new Amazon account (ugh, I despise Amazon) I realized there were constant ads on the Home Screen. Nope. After researching online, I discovered they can be removed…for a $20 fee? I chatted up an Amazon rep and they were able to waive the $20 instantly. Now it is perfect again.

I have no intention of “purchasing” digital books from Amazon ever again. I learned this way back in 2013 when I canceled my original Amazon account and discovered I could not take my books with me. Digital Rights Management (DRM) be damned.

For the past few years I have enjoyed reading books from public libraries using their Libby app on my iDevices. But now I can read in their app or send to the Kindle instead. Brilliant.

Now I need a solution to export all highlights and notes I make on the Kindle to other software platforms to use as a reference.

I hope that with the proper tools such as the Kindle, I will be able to exceed my this year’s reading goals again. 

Avoid The Noise

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Be a good steward of your gifts. Protect your time. Feed your inner life. Avoid too much noise. Read good books, have good sentences in your ears. Be by yourself as often as you can. Walk. Take the phone off the hook. Work regular hours.

Jan Kenyon, “A Hundred White Daffodils”

Random Thoughts

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I like to borrow e-books from the library. If I buy a physical book, it will be only after I know it is a book I will love and come back to.This prevents me from buying and owning books I don’t love. Saves money too.

Life as an extrovert can be rewarding and exciting. A dual life as an introvert is quiet, inward, reflective.

I am not a perfectionist by nature. So why do I think my writing has to be perfect and hinder my creativity?

Words without action seems fraudulent to me. But here I am, a big fraud.

Am I following my desires or am I on cruise control?

The Soma,(mind-altering joy drug featured in the book “Brave New World”) is spot on for current events. Media, politics, social media, 24-hr “Breaking News”, etc, all distract us from what is real. Be wary, mindful and discerning with the intake of these drugs.

Mindful meditation and breathing reduces physical and mental concerns.

Our neural passages are malleable, meaning, we can change ourselves for the better if we choose to.

The easy path is way too easy. Challenge myself.

Being enthusiastic about something should be worth 20 IQ points alone.

The Strange Library

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I just started and finished (33m) my first book of 2023 titled “Fushigi na Toshokan” or “The Strange Library” by Haruki Murakami. A fantastical illustrated short novel about a boy imprisoned in a nightmarish library. The story of a lonely boy, a mysterious girl, and a tormented sheep man plotting their escape from a nightmarish library, the book is like nothing else Murakami has written.

Although, at 96 pages with beautiful illustrations by Chip Kidd, I would consider this a short story, or micro fiction.

Learn

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“Learn to like what doesn’t cost much.
Learn to like reading, conversation, music.
Learn to like plain food, plain service, plain cooking.
Learn to like fields, trees, brooks, hiking, rowing, climbing hills.
Learn to like people, even though some of them may be different…different from you.
Learn to like to work and enjoy the satisfaction of doing your job as well as it can be done.
Learn to like the songs of birds, the companionship of dogs.
Learn to like gardening, puttering around the house, and fixing things.
Learn to like the sunrise and sunset, the beating of rain on the roof and windows, and the gentle fall of snow on a winter day.
Learn to keep your wants simple and refuse to be controlled by the likes and dislikes of others.”

– Lowell L. Bennion

What Did I Learn In 2022?

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What did I learn, or discover during the year of 2022?

“I learned that I have more to learn.”

My book reading total surpassed the goal of 22 books in 2022. I keep track because I need to look back to remember what I have read. The number of books read is pointless if I haven’t learned something or retain the enjoyment of the novel.

I learned that I know almost nothing of consequence anymore and this needs to change.

By the time this post has been read, I have managed to survive fifty years in 2022. But in my mind, I think I am just getting started. I’ve learned that I have become complacent and content with what I have. But then again,

“Nothing good comes when you are comfortable and cozy”

I don’t want to talk about things and not see change. I want to make things happen for myself.

I have learned that politics, media, and social media have validated my personal beliefs that they are useless. Those three have justified my thinking in their actions and behaviors.

Surprising myself, I learned that I am adaptable and can acclimate myself towards the cold winter months. The shorter days no longer affect my mood. The harsh weather, barring any blizzards, is tolerable enough for me to work outdoors all day.

Less is more. The desire to purge the extra stuff in the house is real. Or as a friend tells it: “De-bullshit my life.”

I learned that I am in better shape than some people my age, but there is much room for improvement. I learned, once again, that less truly is more.

I discovered that I am more prone to becoming an introvert these days as opposed to me previously being an extrovert.

I am reminded that the desire to travel to Cambodia, Japan, Mexico, Italy, Spain and Portugal is growing stronger.

I learned my Spanish sucks but that will become rectified in 2023.

I learned the desire to tune my bicycle and hit the city’s trails is still there. I learned that there are more trails to hike and there are always more places to explore.

I learned that there are amazingly intelligent and talented individuals outside of social media. I want to be friends and learn from them.

I learned I need to be even more patient and more flexible.

I learned a newfound appreciation for classical music, Tibetan singing bowls and other meditative music.

I learned the perfect workflow does not exist. The perfect book does not exist and I won’t stop looking for either.

I learned that the best laid plans are elusive.

I learned not to trust employers because they will always sell out good employees to save money.

I learned to trust and appreciate my supportive family and friends more.

I learned that domestic air travel is to be avoided if possible.

I am learning that despite having and maintaining a website for twenty years, that hitting “Publish” in my software app is still one of my favorite things to do.

The 2022 book has been closed and a new book with twelve chapters has been opened in 2023. After the past two months of sloth, gluttony and consumption, I learned I am ready to see positive changes this year.

Changes

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A quick list of things I want to accomplish for the new year; or more accurately, “Changes I need to see in 2023.”

  • Learn Spanish
  • More meditation & yoga
  • Learn Adobe Bridge, PS and LR more
  • Quit smoking
  • No alcohol
  • No Soda
  • Lower BP

Learn Spanish with the Duolingo app in small increments everyday. Attempt to retain it by using it in the real world as opposed to just going through the lessons and forgetting it. I know people who have done this and with good results. Success in this will be able to have conversational Spanish by the end of 2023. Bonus: the Italian & Spanish languages are similar so the Italian module is downloaded as well. Two languages in one year? Ambitious!

Meditation and yoga almost daily. I have the software to do so such as Apple Fitness + and Music meditation. Guided podcasts, etc. I just grabbed a new padded floor mat to help with this. Success here will be lower BP, increased flexibility, calmer mind, more patience.

Learning Adobe products should be easy. I have the fundamentals down because I’ve been using it for years. But I want a deep dive. This will come in handy for my photo archive organization. The end result will be an organized archive system where I can easily find and use any one photo on demand.

After the NYE party on Saturday, the pipe and tobacco will be stored away in a tote. I am over smoking and the removal should help. I need to purchase some gum or mints to help with those cravings. This will help me breathe easier, lower my BP and overall health.

Stopping alcohol consumption is not difficult for me, even when I am at a bar I can refrain. I should see less weight and overall health as a result.

Lowering my BP should be my number one priority this year. Less, salt. Less sugar. Less eating out. Increase my cardio with more walking, yoga. More supplements and eventually the diuretic prescription again. All of this should help me lower my weight and eventually those readings will come down.

When I fall (and I will fall), get back up, learn from my mistakes, and continue pushing forward because failure is a byproduct of growth. It’s all part of the process. If I plan on recycling the exact resolution I’ve made every year since 2018, perhaps it’s time to try something different. Now that I have the right tools, making 2023 the year I follow through on my New Year’s resolution is entirely up to me.