As of now, I have made it one year. I have posted in this blog for 365 days in a row. I have completed one of my primary goals. I never missed a night, although I haven't always managed to get my essays published before midnight on the dot. That last detail doesn't faze me a bit. I'm pretty proud of myself for making it through year one. I wanted to gain discipline, to make writing a habit, and I think I have achieved that. Writing has always come naturally to me (unlike speech, which is not my friend), but I think my skills have been honed through this last year of practice. I'm getting better at editing myself, giving enough information to be clear and to tell my stories, without dragging on too terribly long. I've learned to filter out the extraneous tangents, or at least most of them. Sure, sometimes I catch myself stretching to fit every paragraph into my themes, but that will get smoother with time. I am on top of the world tonight, having met my challenge to myself. I don't know what my next goal will be. I'm definitely going to keep writing. This is too much fun to stop. I need to think about the next step. Finishing a novel? Getting paid? Getting the nerve to put my face in here somewhere? Maybe I will ask my family for suggestions.
I wonder sometimes about the algorithms that determine "random" song selections on digital devices. I have frequently thought they matched my mood frighteningly well, but today I started wondering whether they have the ability to customize based on the calendar. Today was an Easter dinner at Bonfire, and I volunteered to bring scalloped potatoes and asparagus. I decided I needed tunes in the kitchen while I cooked, and brought out my iPad. I hit play, but didn't want to listen to the last song played again, and so I tapped fast forward to randomly choose the next song. The first thing that played while I sliced potatoes was "Heaven on Their Minds." I laughed, and kept cutting. But when a 1980s Murray Head song came on (he made the original recording of that song), and then a few songs later it was "Pilates Dream" from the same musical, I started thinking that maybe it was a little bit creepy that my iPad was working a theme.
Bonfire is a little like being in a Wes Anderson movie. It's a lot of clever, strange people in a funky setting. The property is covered with vintage thrift store gems and hip personal art. Some stuff is kitschy, some is rock and roll, and some is dark and spooky. I feel like one of the cool kids when I'm there, although maybe I'm really just the nerdy friend of the cool kids. Today was another birthday (I think I'm the only one of the group without a late winter/spring birthday), and there were decorated cupcakes to follow dinner. Too bad I couldn't have one. The late cold snap and persistent rain forced us to move our meal inside, and we ended up set up in the garage, alongside the welding tools and animal skulls. Is it strange to admit that it felt more right to have this particular traditional meal out there than in the fanciest dining room?
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