Football Epilogue

The desert outside of Scottsdale while enjoying an ATV tour. And so here I am. Sitting at an oasis in the Sonoran desert. I'm in Phoenix, AZ at the Arizona Grand Resort (& Spa), sitting on the patio just outside the resorts golf pro-shop. The coffee is tasty as I watch the upper middle class (does that still exist) play the high handicap version of golf that is probably still way better than my game.  Along the patio are a good, but not overly crowded, mix of mom's with their kids, non-golfing dads and the occasional youth baseball player who looks like they just received gear from the bat armory and has their marching orders for the day's tournament. The speakers are playing some motown, funk and classic rock/folk classics. I'm finding myself frequented by birds, namely a precocious sparrow hoping to find some dropped crumbs. Sorry, I've only got coffee at the moment. So, this is my spring break. It's a small escape from the stress good people in MN had to,...

Upping my writing "game" has been on my mind lately. One way to exercise the brain and spur some creativity is using writing prompts: story ideas generated by someone or something else. Using prompts are a supposedly a good way to exercise creativity, find some new inspiration, build some endurance at ye olde modern typewriter and just have some fun with; a sort of mental cardio.  The challenge for me is to break away from my usual flavor of writing, which is rather functional. I tend to write to sort out my thoughts and assign some structure to my perspective and my life. More functional and purposeful. That's fine I suppose, but writing just in that genre can be limiting. I at least like the idea of being able to write more broadly. Being able to do so would probably even help out the writing in that genre, both bringing new ideas and new diversity to my prose. Hence, in writing this paragraph I just rationalized the importance and utility in writing prompt exercises.  ...

As with my last couple of posts, writing has been a tricky endeavor. My head feels muddled and it's hard to linearize my thoughts in a manner conducive to a blog post. Still, I try. It's an interesting problem as there is a lot of stuff I want to write about, but there's enough thinking pulling me away from those items. In essence a lack of feeling centered and in the moment; preventing some level of agency in my writing. I'm not sure what to do about it, but to keep scribbling as best I can.  Heightened anxiety is the best I can attribute this state to. As much as I lament continued lamenting of the new job I think it is the reality that I am a slow adapter to change. Maybe this is a good opportunity to look back to other times I've had some big changes in my life. Fortunately (or maybe unfortunately) these times don't happen terribly often. Working backwards chronologically, the biggest next most recent thing was the divorce. It was a tough time, although I do...

It has been a while since my last post. The last two months sped by with my job change, a trip to Colorado and a short bout of Covid. Things are finally starting to stabilize just in time for football season and another year of coaching! I've also been finding myself in a more DIY mode of operation; making slow but steady progress on home improvements, car repairs, yard work and the like. Thus, I apologize to my modest, but fanatical readership for being away. I've finally found a moment and some motivation to write. Maybe it's the start of the English Premier League season creating a quiet morning for coffee and pecking away at a keyboard, or the rainy morning weather, or the sinking into routine; but I am, as some may say, "in the mood".  The challenge is that of mental oxidation. I feel rusty in both choosing what to write about and being able to ascribe some sense of structure to my prose, leaving me with writing a stream of consciousness. My focus also keeps ...

I've been using this blog to keep on with my fitness journey quite a bit. I've been writing less frequently as habits are being instilled. Still, it's good to check up and it might be getting time to pivot on to other things that this journey is enabling.  First off, a quick check in though. Since the holidays, I've been maintaining my weight fairly well. The added level of consciousness from daily weigh-ins along with having some good baseline habits is making this task easier. In rambling on with a friend this week, as well as some past discussions with others, being able to maintain in challenging times like winter is a victory in and of itself. I'll take it. When the weather warms and heading outside becomes more comfortable, work can continue on the "next level" goals. That's not to say I can't and shouldn't take advantage of some extra walking or cardio time when I can. Nor does it mean I shouldn't keep working on better eating habits...