What I'm looking forward to...

I don't really do a lot of New Year's resolutions or anything like that, but I definitely like to re-evaluate life from time to time. Especially during times of great change, which seem to fall at the end of the year a lot for some reason... Anyway, as I've been thinking about what I want next year to look like, it helped to think about what I wish I had done more of in the last year.

To me, this photo (taken by my friend Lisa Fett) says it all: I want to make more music in 2013.

I knew that taking over Musical Family Tree this year would probably require me to step back from music a little in a creative sense. In order to more completely evaluate what other musicians in Indiana were doing, I wanted to remove myself a bit as a performer and become more of a spectator. I still made music when I could, but I found myself with less and less time to do it.

In some ways, playing music (not to mention, writing it, recording it, and compelling others to check it out) is exhausting, but it's also always been one of my best ways to relieve stress and get some feelings out in the open. So I hope to never stop, and I realize I may have to put some real planning and scheduling into it to make it work out. 

Whether with Beer or Everything, Now! or any other project, I want to get back into the creative process. I want to make new statements, create exciting compositions - making music has always kind of been what keeps me going, so it was tough to have less time for music this year. However, going forward, scheduling time to do the things I'm really passionate about will have to be a bigger priority. I work hard and I love the local music scene, so I think this will largely be a positive way to get deeper into something that means a lot to me.

***

This post is part of Think Kit by SmallBox 

Today’s prompt: What are you looking forward to the most about the next 365 days?

New Goal, First Step

Just in case I haven't made this clear through mild bitching all over my blog lately, I've been pretty busy. Like crazy busy. Like if I was Homer Simpson, I'd be making the face in the picture... But I do feel like I'm getting better at handling stress. I don't know. Some days are better than others for sure.

One of my current goals in terms of stress reduction is to schedule more time off from work. My schedule fluctuates a lot, which is necessary to the type of work I do. For MFT, I go to a lot of shows, and I'm a musician, so I'm used to being up late. My SmallBox work has also grown more demanding, and I don't expect it to slow down (Think Kit has kept me especially busy with daily activity - only one day left!). I'm in the office a lot more, working with others, attending meetings, juggling a full schedule. It's interesting that I finally have a job where time off is acceptable and even expected, but I haven't managed to give myself many breaks at all.

So yeah, a new goal for me is to actually make plans to turn the computer off, to tell my coworkers and colleagues that I'm not working, make one of those irritating instant e-mail reply thingies, and do something totally relaxing/productive while I can. My wife and I have lots of work to do on our house. It's been forever since I've taken time off work and just recorded music. It's been years since I've been on tour with a band (although I'm still not convinced I'm ready to live that way again, even for a couple weeks). I love to read books, but I give myself less time than ever to read. There are tons of little things I could be doing!

All of this tells me that I have to get serious about "me time" when I can. Work is great, but it's still work, and that's not the same as pleasure. I realize most of these feelings come from all the daily maintenance involved in Think Kit and MFT admin duties, but life will always keep me overwhelmed and anxious if I let it. It's up to me to take deliberate steps toward reducing stress and enjoying my private time.

So what's the first step? January 1st, 2013, the day after Think Kit ends, I'm taking the full day to myself. Everyone and everything else can wait, and due to that being a holiday, no one will really even care. But I will. And it's gonna be nice - hopefully the first of many hard-earned scheduled breaks from work in the coming year.

***

This post is part of Think Kit by SmallBox 

Today’s prompt: What's one step you can take to support a goal you have for 2013?

New Skill

Catching up because I missed yesterday's post. If it's any consolation, it was because I was working on this giant year-end blog post for MFT and the accompanying playlist. I also got to see The Gizmos play live, which was totally rad for real...

Anyway, a new skill I would like to develop next year would be working with Photoshop or a similar program for editing and enhancing images. If you haven't noticed, I make some very bootleg images on this blog and the MFT blog. I like my images to be a little raw or lo-fi, but I also want to learn to make things look better. Pretty much all I do right now is edit the images in Word, which is pretty goofy I know.

(A prime example of my delightfully stupid design work)

I always like to make sure that I maintain my personality and authenticity in everything I create, but I also don't want to sacrifice quality. As I learn to do things in a more conventional or skillful way, I'm sure I'll continue to break certain rules of design or taste, which may make my work unique. I'm not a graphic designer, and I don't really plan to become one. But I definitely love to make a lot of different things, including images. And picking up a little skill training probably wouldn't hurt!

See? Progress.

***

This post is part of Think Kit by SmallBox 

Yesterday's prompt: What new skill do you want to add to your repertoire in 2013?

Do you really want to know?

Not only am I taking the easy way out tonight with a lifeline topic (What are you wearing? What makes it uniquely you?), I'm probably also half-assing my entire blog post. Had another exhausting day, followed by a rather long record club party, so yeah, I'm beat.

Anyway, it's after midnight, and I'm wearing my favorite uniform for extreme relaxation. Loose plaid sleep pants, big ass flannel robe/housecoat thing, and white T-shirt. Oh comfort, you really are my friend. Also, I'm wearing underwear, boxers, but I'm not sure if that detail is really necessary - probably should have left it out. Oh well. I named this post "Do you really want to know?" so like, you probably would have stopped there if there was any chance that you didn't want to know all there is to know.

This outfit is not 100% "uniquely me," because I guess everybody has their own clothes for ultimate relaxation. I don't really sleep in pants or a robe, but they are warm and heavy and soft, so they get me in the right mood to go to sleep. So, in some ways, I guess these clothes are "uniquely me" because I'm the one wearing them. Does that answer suck?

And now that you know what I'm wearing, I've done my Think Kit duties for the day, and I'm going to bed. Good night.

***

This post is part of Think Kit by SmallBox 

Today’s lifeline topic: What are you wearing? What makes it uniquely you?

Think Kit Day 27! (special event)

It's hard for me to pick a favorite event from this year, because I remember having several that felt like favorites. Anyway, why pick just one when I can just hang onto as many as possible?! I know I should give more details too, but I'm just too tired out right now. At least this will mean something to me :)

Here's a brief list of some memorable events from this year:

• MFT's 8th Birthday Party at the Speak Easy
• Indy Vintage and Antique Market at Glendale Mall
• SmallBox's 24 Hour Web Project 
• MFT's New Music Showcase at Radio Radio
• Vulgar Boatmen show at Mediumship
• Gary War at Mediumship
• Cataracts Festival in Fountain Square
• Dr. Ray live cover set at Broad Ripple Music Fest (Za Upper Room)
• Woodsist Fest (Big Sur, California)
• SXSW (Austin, TX) Man, I saw so many good acts at that fest...

I know there were lots of other memorable nights (including Tonic Ball, my 5th Anniversary, and the first night I slept in my new house because the lights on my vehicle had gone out), but we'll just call that some sort of top ten and leave it there... It's late; I'm tired; it's been a long year (and month with all these blog posts, sigh). 

Needless to say I went to tons of great shows and parties. But sometimes my favorite event in the world is to crawl into bed and sleep like a stone.

***

This post is part of Think Kit by SmallBox 

Today’s prompt: What event stood out for you this year? Where was it? who was there? what did it look like?

My self portrait

My wife and I stayed home yesterday, so today's monstrous blizzard was pretty inconvenient. We were fortunate to not have to travel much for the holidays this year, but by today we were both ready to go out and do things.

Only problem? The blizzard. We did end up getting out and visiting a friend, going to the grocery, and checking out the condition of the roads (pretty darn bad, but not impossible - just had to be extra careful). But it was definitely a task to get the driveway shoveled and the car to the road.

Anyway, here's my self-portrait of what our battle against nature might have looked like today... I'm the one on the left, not the monster, ya' jerk!

***

This post is part of Think Kit by SmallBox 

Today’s prompt: Draw a self portrait. Get as abstract or as real as you like.

Photo of the year

Today's prompt asked me to think of a photo from this year that highlights thankfulness and finding peace, and this is what immediately came to mind:

Definitely not the best picture I've ever taken - it's blurry, kind of dark, just randomly shot on my cell phone. A couple months ago, I was home by myself for a couple days, and I took a walk around the yard. As you can tell, it was the height of fall: red leaves, pumpkins, nice sunset colors, still a little greenery...

Buying this house was a crazy process, and somewhat stressful for my wife and me. I definitely spent the first few weeks in the house terrified about all the things that might be wrong with it.

Over time though, I've settled in. And the house, property, wildlife, etc. give me the peace I have always sought in a place to call home. It's amazing, and I'm thankful every day to live here. I hope that we will always stay dedicated to keeping and improving our home and the surrounding land. We'll have to work hard, and we know it, but considering the beauty and spirit of this place, I think it'll all be worth it.

***

This post is part of Think Kit by SmallBox 

Today’s prompt: Share a photo from your year that highlights giving, thankfulness, traditions or finding peace.