Let's try this again...

I think this will, technically, be my 7th attempt at writing on a consistent basis.  That's if you count the angelfire website I started 9th grade.  I've looked everywhere on the internet for that, so I can laugh at younger me, yet sadly, I can't seem to find it.  I've had a Xanga, Blurty, a few on here  (Blogger) and I did a blog when I decided to do a 40 day juice fast.  Much like the angelfire site, I can't find that old Blurty or Xanga to confirm the post count, but on here I maxed out at about 25 posts.  On my juice fast blog I didn't even finish the final post of the fast.  The one post that any consistent reader of a juice fast blog looks forward to is the one that I "didn't get around to". I neglected to post that I lost a bunch of weight, and what my diet plans are moving forward.  I even had my wife record a video of me taking a bite out of an apple.  It's still on my phone.  I look pretty skinny.

I lost a lot of weight, and fairly quickly I gained almost all of it back (to be fair, we went to Italy for 10 days a week or so after I ended the fast), but it was an interesting journey and I learned a lot about myself, food, and willpower.  Maybe not enough about willpower, since I didn't even muster enough to finish the blog, or to keep up with a healthy lifestyle.  I smoked 2 cigarette while writing this, and still have clothes that in my closet that I can't wear because I bought them right after I dropped 50 lbs from a juice fast...

So maybe you're asking yourself the same questions I am asking myself, "Why start a new blog after so many failed attempts?"

I think this question is also the answer.  After reading a blog by one of my friends, who has been an inspiration to me for years and years in regards to writing, and after hearing someone at church use the  "flex that muscle" metaphor, I realized it was time to once again put fingers to keyboard.  I have always loved writing.  Somewhere along the line I just got to busy.

The irony in that is that what brought me to Seattle from Memphis, was a non-profit who, at it's core, encourages artists and creatives to get off their asses, stop being too busy to engage in their craft.  We spend a significant portion of our lives practicing, honing, enjoying, and producing with these skill sets and mediums that we are inexplicably drawn to and then what happens?  We get so focused on paying bills, or social status, or catching Pokemon or whatever else takes up our time, that we forget how fulfilling it can be.  We forget how much richer, deeper, and more memorable life experiences can be when we are expressing ourselves by "flexing these muscles".

I've always gravitated towards artists, musicians, and weirdos. In these circles the common question that is asked is something along the lines of "what's your thing?"  For me I never quite had an answer because even though I play guitar and mandolin, I'm not good at either.  I have a pretty decent singing voice but don't consider myself a singer.  I enjoy drawing, but don't consider myself very talented.  I really love graffiti, and yet don't consider myself to be a painter or tagger.  Writing is the only thing that I felt comfortable claiming. I'm not an amazing writer, but the feeling I get when I am in the middle of telling a story, whether it's written or spoken, being able to craft characters, choose words, move a plot... It's hard to match that feeling.  

Garry Potter 

So let's figure it out together.  Let's see if I can stick with this one for more than 25 posts.  Not sure exactly what I'll be writing about, or how often (my goal is 1-2 a week), and I'm open to suggestions.

Dana Jill (my wife)

More than likely I'll be talking about my reflections on life in the restaurant industry, my dog, Garry Potter, being married to a freelancing filmmaker, or whatever else life throws my way.  Either way, feel free to comment below with suggestions or subscribe.

Let's do this.