Thirteen Things I've Been Busy Doing Lately Instead of Blogging

I bet you've been wondering if I'd fallen off the planet. Maybe you feared I had blogfaded and wasn't coming back. Well, darling, I just learned I earned 45¢ Google revenue last month and I'm thinking I can double that if I actually posted something once in a while. I'm in this for the money, baby - the piles and piles of coinage that Google Adsense sends my way. Oh yeah. If we keep this up I might be able to retire in opulence by 2031. Or was that 3031?

At any rate, I hope you enjoyed the article I posted yesterday, and to sate your curiosity about where I've been I present the following:

1. Writing Books
   
   I began my sabbatical by promising myself I would finish my juvenile fiction novel by my fortieth birthday. Alas, being a fulltime Dad, homeschool teacher, and graphic designer on the side just didn't leave any time for novel writing. Still, I kept at it. I also finished the second draft of a picture book I'm working on.
   
2. Saving Christmas
   
   Right after Thanksgiving my wife became busy with two jobs. It was up to me to be Santa and save Christmas. Things turned out OK. The kids loved their Happy Meals from Mikki D's. Next time I probably won't wrap them a week before the kids get to eat them, but the fries were perfect to hang on the tree.
   
3. Homeschooling
   
   This seemed like such a good idea at first. Now I'm ripping my hair out. But the girls are making good progress so it's been worth it overall.
   
4. Ticking & Twitching
   
   I cannot believe how much I've been ticking since November. It's out of control. Probably related to my insomnia, my life goes on hold regularly as I have a major episode of motor tic disorder. The last 48 hours have been unusually tic free so I'm enjoying the extra time and getting some blogging in.
   
5. Podcasting with My Daughter
   
   Boy, does this take forever. Nothing eats time like trying to ride herd on a fourteen year old who's busy with school, busy with dance, busy with voice lessons, busy with performances, and likes to procrastinate. Too bad, too. If there was more time I'd really like to do that Harry Potter podcast again with my 12 year old daughter, but that is such a production that it hasn't happened since Christmas 2005.
   
6. Writing in My Journal
   
   I've been writing in journals since I was twelve. Most of them I think I will burn this summer. I keep saying that but then forget to. There's really no redeeming value to rereading what my day was like in 7th grade.
   
   

   Went to class. Saw her again. She is so beautiful. I got an A+ on my assignment. Now if only I could complete my Star Wars cards collection it would be a perfect day...

   
   
   However, as an adult I love to search my soul and problem solve with pen in hand and a journal in my lap. I've been doing a lot of that lately.
   
7. Being a Fulltime Dad, and Moonlighting as a Dad on the Side
   
   This is really where my time has gone. With my wife working two jobs, I have a lot of Daddy Duty. The girls have so many lessons and performances that there is little time for me to pursue my personal interests like writing, blogging, drawing...
   
8. Dealing with Sick Kids
   
   My kids are trying to break the Guiness Book of World Records for consecutive weeks vomiting and sniffling.
   
9. Graphic Design
   
   Contrary to my mournful descriptions of a life lost to parental servitude, I do carve out a few moments for myself. One thing that has been a priority has been my freelance graphic design assignments. One in particular has taken a lot of time, but looks fabulous and my client loves it so all is well.
   
10. Taking My Pennywhistle Playing to the Next Level
    
    The other moment I carve out for myself is to play the pennywhistle (aka, the tin whistle). I squeeze in 15 minutes here and there and have decided to focus on only this one instrument until I have mastered it. There is not much to learning how to play a song on a six hole instrument until you enter the world of Irish ornamentation and articulation. Sometimes I feel like I'm a newbie all over again, but I have made fantastic progress and have begun to surprise myself when I play. My neurological disability gets in the way most of the time with my dexterity, but I'm stubborn and have decided that I don't care anymore. I refuse to be embarrassed about it. I've even discovered some very interesting things about myself and my disability that I plan on sharing here. This has been a good move on my part.
    
11. Suffocating - Such Fun!
    
    Despite making progress with my disabilities, self-esteem, and overall healthy outlook on life, my body has decided to step up its game. It seems to be determined to drown me in a sea of my own phlegm. I know. Disgusting. But since I can't breathe at night without a CPAP it is imperative that I keep those air passages open. Too bad that requires a firehose and massive amounts of C4 explosives. Eventually, I win and can fall asleep. Classic Man versus Himself scenario.
    
12. Insomnia
    
    If falling asleep wasn't enough of a problem, my body doesn't like to stay asleep either. If this meant more hours of productivity I would be thrilled. Unfortunately, it just means I move in slow motion and tic more.
    
13. Watching TV
    
    After not sleeping well during the night and working all day I'm beat. I have taken to vegetating in front of the blasted boob tube. What a whopping, mountainous, titanic, colossal, towering waste of time. I'm finally fed up enough with myself that I don't do that anymore, but unfortunately I wasn't so strong in January. And most of February. But I'm strong now. Honest. And I'll get on with my life and finish all the important things on my list right after this next infomercial.

Now, if you think I am just being maudlin and feeling sorry for myself, you would be mistaken. I go through these awkward neurological periods from time to time and I just hunker down and get through them. I'm coming out of it now and I am so excited to get back to burning the candle at both ends and driving myself into the grave. Wish me luck!


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Thursday Thirteen #8

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