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28 Jan 07 – 28 Jan 07
In one sense, I accomplished nothing today. I just did my duties at AWANA, then went to my parents, ate dinner, and chatted. Then I came home, took a bath, and wrote this.
Let me reframe that, though. I attended AWANA, where I encouraged and advised a bunch of boys. I showed them a clip of Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind and had twenty boys spellbound as I pointed at the screen and said, "That is love." I then drove to my parents' house, where I invested in my relationship with them. I came home, drew a bath, and lay in the steaming water reviewing my life.
So, in one sense, I did many things of lasting worth today. I'm content.
27 Jan 07 – 27 Jan 07
I'm back from an all-nighter. I work with ten- to twelve-year-old boys in a church program, and on Friday night attended an annual lock-in in which about seventy boys eat pizza, drink lots of soda, and run around a massive church shooting Nerf darts at each other. It's great fun, and it went off swimmingly.
I played as Neo from The Matrix. I wore all black clothes, plus a trenchcoat and sunglasses, and I carried a Nerf javelin that I've modified into a longsword. Judging by the squeals of the kids when they saw me coming, I was terrifying.
At times like this, I do love this work.
26 Jan 07 – 26 Jan 07
This past Christmas, since I spent less than usual on presents, I made and gave out a lot of cookies. So I spent much of the week before Christmas driving to my friends' homes and delivering cookies.
A surprising thing happened. Without fail, my friends would invite me in, and we'd sit down at the kitchen table and chat. We'd shoot the breeze about Christmas, and movies we'd seen, and the miscellaneous stuff going on in our lives. It was the kind of front-porch conversation I crave with people. And, in some cases, we'd talk for hours.
This is definitely something I want to do every year.
25 Jan 07 – 25 Jan 07
Tonight, after work, I ate thick slices of seven-grain bread, alternating with wedges of cheddar and Morbier cheeses, and sipped a small glass of 2004 Red Truck wine. I took twenty minutes, alone, just me and the meal.
It was glorious. Why not enjoy and fully experience every meal? I could have wolfed it all down in five minutes; would I have died happier?
(And I highly recommend Red Truck if you want a full-bodied, classic red wine.)
23 Jan 07 – YouTubing
Still sick, but managed to get in four hours at the office. I fear that only worsened things, as I've felt exhausted since then. But I had to go in.
I spent the rest of the day laying in bed, watching Mystery Science Theater 3000 and Whose Line Is It Anyway. Not my best day.
22 Jan 07 – Really, really sick
I hate being sick. I hate it because I want to do things, I want to even do relaxing things, but I don't even feel like relaxing. I feel like watching Oprah.
20 Jan 07 – 20 Jan 07
Saalon's here for the weekend. I'm struck again by the power of physical human connection. I feel closer to him after two hours of face-to-face interaction than after two months of phone calls and two years of email and IM.
19 Jan 07 – 19 Jan 07
At the seventh annual B1 chili cook-off today at work, I came in dead last amidst fierce competition. In consolation, I got a tennis racket, three balls, and a $15 iTunes gift card. It was immense fun, and a wonderful way to end my time there: eating, chatting, and laughing with my co-workers. Now I just have to hand off everything in the next two weeks.
18 Jan 07 – Time to Begin
I sketched the first panel of a short comic last night, after re-reading part of Pressfield's The War of Art and realizing that I'd be happier pursuing my dream of drawing comics than telling myself "not now."
Also, my new email address "brent@brentnewhall.com" appears to be working.