Happy Thanksgiving. Today I am spending it with my girlfriend, and unfortunately neither of us are with our families. There were a couple of potential exposures to the pandemic that is reaching over 260,000 dead in the United States, so we are patiently awaiting test results before anything else. Neither of us are retirement age, and I’m the only one with a preexisting condition, so there’s not much risk. But who wants to get someone else sick?
Even in times like these there is much to be grateful for: the love of those who are family by blood and by choice, peace in ones community, the results of one’s effort toward bettering oneself, or the wisdom of those in one’s life - whether dead or living. In fact, it is usually those who are living who can help most directly. For example, I’ve been informed by people who are living, people smarter than myself that my script doesn’t quite work as a script. So I should try it as a young adult novel. People who are living are the ones who provided a thanksgiving dinner while I await test results. People who are living are the ones who have put me on the short list to be an apprentice electrician.
It takes the support of others to reach the next level. This is through education and training (of which I’ve had exemplary teachers), opportunities provided by bosses, clients who wished to soar to their personal success with me, and people who could bear living or collaborating with me for various periods of time. Heck, if one really breaks it down the cashier at the grocery store who helps me get food I wouldn’t have been able to grow or prepare myself is necessary support. Especially in times like these.
Occasionally I wonder if the path that I took through life is the proper one for me. So I have to ask what it is that I have been trained for, what my goals are in life, and what steps could be taken to get there. My degree was in interpersonal interaction, empathy, and objective achievement - also known as Theater. There were other amazing lessons worked in, of course, but this was why I moved toward sales or teaching at various points so far. My goals were to get a house and build a brick and mortar business. So construction lines up there, and electrical skills line up for wiring a theater.
For the last year or so I was looking at unions to see when they were taking applications for apprenticeship. Portland itself wasn’t hiring, but I saw that Central Oregon was, and I jumped on that when I saw it. That would take a step of moving, but it’s worth it to take the step toward my goals. And hey, the cost of living should be better.
For writing, the steps I’ve been taking were mostly free writing for potential prologues and epilogues. But I am extremely out of practice for that narrative style. I can write dialogue well, but I haven’t even written a short story since high school (except perhaps character backstories for D&D). These blogs can be helpful for the subtext of character, or thought exploration, but even they don’t do much for landscapes.
As I quarantine, I don’t have many symptoms, just a cough, some wheezing, and general exhaustion. No fever, but it’s better safe than sorry. I’m sure it’s nothing, but I’m popping vitamins like no tomorrow, and drinking bottomless cups of tea. I’m thankful that I know no one who has gotten terribly sick this year, and for the love of those in my life.
Even in times like these there is much to be grateful for: the love of those who are family by blood and by choice, peace in ones community, the results of one’s effort toward bettering oneself, or the wisdom of those in one’s life - whether dead or living. In fact, it is usually those who are living who can help most directly. For example, I’ve been informed by people who are living, people smarter than myself that my script doesn’t quite work as a script. So I should try it as a young adult novel. People who are living are the ones who provided a thanksgiving dinner while I await test results. People who are living are the ones who have put me on the short list to be an apprentice electrician.
It takes the support of others to reach the next level. This is through education and training (of which I’ve had exemplary teachers), opportunities provided by bosses, clients who wished to soar to their personal success with me, and people who could bear living or collaborating with me for various periods of time. Heck, if one really breaks it down the cashier at the grocery store who helps me get food I wouldn’t have been able to grow or prepare myself is necessary support. Especially in times like these.
Occasionally I wonder if the path that I took through life is the proper one for me. So I have to ask what it is that I have been trained for, what my goals are in life, and what steps could be taken to get there. My degree was in interpersonal interaction, empathy, and objective achievement - also known as Theater. There were other amazing lessons worked in, of course, but this was why I moved toward sales or teaching at various points so far. My goals were to get a house and build a brick and mortar business. So construction lines up there, and electrical skills line up for wiring a theater.
For the last year or so I was looking at unions to see when they were taking applications for apprenticeship. Portland itself wasn’t hiring, but I saw that Central Oregon was, and I jumped on that when I saw it. That would take a step of moving, but it’s worth it to take the step toward my goals. And hey, the cost of living should be better.
For writing, the steps I’ve been taking were mostly free writing for potential prologues and epilogues. But I am extremely out of practice for that narrative style. I can write dialogue well, but I haven’t even written a short story since high school (except perhaps character backstories for D&D). These blogs can be helpful for the subtext of character, or thought exploration, but even they don’t do much for landscapes.
As I quarantine, I don’t have many symptoms, just a cough, some wheezing, and general exhaustion. No fever, but it’s better safe than sorry. I’m sure it’s nothing, but I’m popping vitamins like no tomorrow, and drinking bottomless cups of tea. I’m thankful that I know no one who has gotten terribly sick this year, and for the love of those in my life.