A Brief Delay In Beginning The Seven Things Initiative

Okay, okay: it's taking me a little longer to get started than I thought it would take. I had school last night and we're getting ready for a long weekend in Cleveland, so time seems to be at a premium. But I do have three things lined up, so far, that will be posted. I almost just posted those three last night, but I'd like to start with a proper full seven items.

Frankly, I wonder if I wouldn't feel so pressed for time right now if I didn't have so much junk surrounding me, which is, of course, leading to an expenditure of time to get rid of it. Ahh, I guess that's the whole point, isn't it? That's the motivation: break the domino chain.

The Seven Things Project

Okay, so this is an idea that I'm stealing from my brother. Of course, he stole it from someone else, so all's fair. In fact, the idea was meant to be stolen, so maybe it's just better if we call all of this a shared experience towards a common goal.
The general idea is to get rid of seven things each week. Reduce the amount of detritus that clutters my home and my mind. I'll take pictures of what's going bye-bye, maybe say a thing or two about each item. I'll be either giving away, selling, donating or recycling the stuff, so you may even have a chance to claim some of my fine crap.

Let's begin!

Things I did this weekend:

I visited with an old pal and his family. I got to color Barbie's house.

I watched my wedding video. It looks like I had fun.

I watched "Save The Last Dance" with my wife. I also kept watching the end of "STLD" even when the Cubs/Cardinals game started. I'm pretty sure that has more to do with loving my wife than having a defeatist attitude about the Cubs.

I hung a clock in our bedroom. It's been waiting to be hung for a few months short of 2 years.

I went to the emergency room.

I laughed at Melanie Griffith. Not in a flattering way, either.

I forgot to cut my hair.

I contemplated how much I sometimes hate my life/myself. See previous post.

I contemplated making my life better.

Plus all of the other mundanities, etc. that keep us moving from one day to the next.

Bye-bye.

Guess Who's Back... Back Again...

Today was a weird, wonderful, brain-twisting, heart-clutching day. After all that, why not do something completely unexpected and actually write a blog entry? Hooray for randomness!

I realized today that, as much as I love many of the people in my life, I'm not very good at doing something with my love. Nor am I good at accepting love from others. The downside to this is anxiety, loneliness, isolation and occasional insincerity used as a excuse to avoid having to really tap into my ineffectual loving skills. The upside is... nothing.

I don't know if I cry too much or not enough.

I seem to be incapable of being the person that I want to be. Maybe I don't really know what kind of person that is.

My heart is filled with hate on a near constant basis. Most of that hate is directed towards myself.

I'm not alone as much as I'd like to be. I don't get as much companionship as I'd like. Both of these situations are my own fault.

There is a giant hole inside of my soul. I have dropped mountains of possesions, relationships, experiences, lies and compromises into that hole, yet it's still practically empty. I know what would fill it, but I don't drop that thing in. I spend a lot of time, in fact, guarding the hole against that thing entering.

I love who I could be.

And that's all for tonight.

I Am A Sucky Blogger

A Short Poem About One of the First Three-Hundred and Sixty-Five Days of a Marriage

This is one reason why houses should have more rooms than people –

Pretzels and a
broken tooth
go together like
you and me
tonight.


Copyright 2005, Kevin Woosley

Reading Is Fun, Even If It Occasionally Makes The Brain Hurt

I've been doing quite a bit more reading than writing lately, which is, over the long haul, the path to Hell for a writer. In mitigation of my sloth, I did write a poem end of last week. It may have even not sucked. I've also been having increasingly coherent ideas for a novel. Writing a novel would be a, well, novel idea for me; I can't seem to find the motivation to sit down long enougn to write a 25 to 200 word poem.
Alright, here's some of what I've been reading lately:

Currently:
Oh The Glory Of It All - Sean Wilsey. I almost hate to admit that I'm enthralled by this book. As exceptionally narcissistic (even for a biography) as it is, there are glittering moments when it is obvious that Wilsey was an unwitting product of his environment, willing to subvert the influence of priviledge and anarchy that surrounded him, but lacking in the tools to do so. I am eager to finish, which is unusual: I usually hate to see a good book end.

Affluenza: The All-Consuming Epedemic - John De Graff, David Wann & Thomas H. Naylor. Comparing rampant American consumption with a medical disease isn't really a literary device: it's scarily accurate. The three wise men who researched and wrote this book make a case convincing enough that I feel some significant guilt over the waste that I help generate. Included is the waste of my energies and time. This is proving to be an appropriate read before Christmas.

Next post: highlights of past reads. And maybe something more original.

A Very Long Time (And A Letter Regarding A Casino)

"A long time" certainly is a relative viewpoint. Keeping that in mind, I think it's has been a long time since my good intentions have mated with my good actions. What I've decided to do here to get this thing back in motion is post a letter I've written to the Executive Secretary of the Region V Regional Government of Chile regarding the proposed development of a portion of Easter Island (Rapa Nui to the natives), namely for a casino.

Mr. Rene Lues, Secretario Ejecutivo
Gobierno Regional V Region; Intendencia
Valparaiso, Chile

Dear Mr. Lues,

I am writing to you today to offer my thoughts, representative of the international community, regarding the construction of a gambling casino on Rapa Nui (Isla de Pasqua).
My wife and I had the unique and memorable experience of spending our honeymoon, in December 2004, on Rapa Nui. We were awed by the fragile natural beauty of the island, the generous spirit of the people and the simple lives that they lead. What a pleasure it was for us to visit such a place! A place that was singular in its culture, essentially unmarked by the trappings of the modern tourism industry. I know that I am not alone in my fears that additional development, particularly of the casino nature, would be damaging – perhaps fatally so– to this fragile and unmarked place.
Chile is fortunate to be the caretaker of the rich history of culture and place that is Rapa Nui, but with that fortune there is a responsibility. Rapa Nui is not the sort of place one can find anything like anywhere else, and once it is damaged or destroyed, it is gone. I join the Rapa Nui Comision de Desarollo in respectfully imploring you to remember that history and the potential consequences of future development when making any decision that might affect the future of this beautiful island, one that is revered and beloved as much by the rest of the World as it is by Chile.

Respectfully,
Mr. Kevin Dale Woosley

The First Thing

How to start? I see little value in trying to make this first entry the socks knocker-offer, so I'll keep it high level: I'm fairly certain that I used to be a writer, but I have my doubts about whether or not that definition of who I am still applies. I'm wondering if a blog will be the kick in the "hyow-hyow" that I need. Start simple. Daily (or so) posts about things, about other things, about the things that come next, in order to hopefully crack the shell blocking the free passage of thoughts, ideas, words. That's it.