Hungry for Hunger

I'm sad that I'm not sad right now.
Although, I am glad that I am glad.
However that works.
I just find I'm more inspired to write when I'm down.

Today was a pretty good day, though.
Unfortunately.  Even though I'm glad about it.
Good days don't inspire profound thoughts, though, you see.

Confessions of a Rookie Blogger

Been trying to fancy up my blog.
And by fancy I mean simple and functional.
Like a picture frame.  Nothing fancy there.
Sure makes a difference, though, doesn't it?

Frankly, I don't even like the word "blog".
It sounds so new and cheap.   
 

The motto of every blog

It should be called a, "blahhhg."
That would sound more fitting, and you could make a little up-chuck noise as you pronounced it.
"BLAHHHHHHHG!"

The Walk

Twice a year I get an animalistic urge to walk.
Not just any walk.
To walk like a rock star.

Out of the blue one day, just, "BOOM!"
Start walking without stopping.

In my mind, I always go East.
I just leave my house in Everett out of the blue one day and start walking down the street.
Street after street, maybe just seeing how far I can go in one day.
It gets dark, and either I hitch a ride or make a fort in the woods.
It gets really real for a minute, as the reality of life stares me down like a dare.
A double dare.

Nothing to Say

They say I have nothing worth saying.
I say, worth has nothing to do with it.

Worth is a relative value, and -
it's up to me what I value.
It's up to you what you value.

I feel so consumed by content.
Facebook, TV, books, magazines, advertisements, he said, she said, music, shows, plays...
Everyone is competing for attention..
How could I possibly have something to say?

No.  That's not it at all.

The Only Time I Drink Slurpee's

I hate shaving.  I only use an electric shaver because I don't want there to be any chance of death in the morning.  I'm not comfortable handling razor blades before I've had my morning coffee.  It just doesn't feel right.

It seems like no matter how many times I run that little humming contraption over my beautiful skin it never seems to get it all.  I could probably spend 3 days shaving and I'd still miss a spot.  Of course by that time I'd have a small beard on the side of my face where I started at.  How frustrating would that be?

Healthily Crazy

Feeling a little neurotic right now.  Dancing on the edge of greatness?
They say there's a correlation between genius and insanity, right?
Sorry, I'll notch down my ego's voting rights in this conversation.

My story about the story of me writing my first story

I'm getting more concerned about my own concern for the non-fictional character I am playing but trying to pretend not to play in my book that I am currently writing, but trying to pretend that I'm not actually writing it.  It's getting confusing.  Right?  The other day as I started writing about how I was thinking about taking writing more seriously, I got a great wave of inspiration that that could be my plot.

Death by Bed Sheets

Our new bedsheets kept me up until 4am last night.  That's my first hypothesis, anyways.  I know you're thinking the same thing my wife was thinking when I told her,
"This is why I'm all of a sudden having trouble sleeping."
She laughed, "the Bed sheets, really?"

The silver lining of the lingering mash

Scouring my brain for stories, I'm about as valuable as a mechanical pencil without lead.  I'm not thinking about any story.  I'm trying to make sense of THE STORY.

MY STORY.

I decided to become a semi-famous author last night, so I'm trying to figure out the story I want to tell.  My first task of vulnerable valor:

Craft Store

I felt a little different while walking around the craft store today.  I was shopping for Christmas and "Thank You" cards for my business.  I have to keep up on my client appreciation.  Mailing good ol' hand crafted notes, an art form I'm trying to keep alive.

I think I felt different walking around the store today, because I have been thinking more about writing.  About the idea of taking my writing more seriously.

Useless Valuables

I hate having to take a dump when I'm trying to work in my office; trying to focus.  Probably not healthy to deny your body of its natural functions, though.  So I make the trek downstairs and hang my jacket on the back of a bar stool in the kitchen.  Down to business.  On a good day, I remember to check the amount of toilet paper on the roll before I sit down.  I usually forget to do that, though, but don't worry, I wont share any of my oops poops stories with you. 

I brought a book with me today, for good measure.  A daily devotional, actually.  It feels slightly irreverent to read a daily devotional while conducting bathroom business.  A 3 minute read couples nicely with a 5 minute task, though, I'm just saying.

Googled Blog

I googled the word "blog" today.  I thought it might give me guidance on what in the who-ha I'm doing here.  Nope.  Didn't help.

Saying I "googled blog" does make me imagine how that would have sounded 20, even 10 years ago, though.  How our language is evolving.  Who knows what commonplace words will enter our world in another 10 years.

It makes me think of words that have gone out of style.  My name, "Garret" is actually a noun.  It's a certain type of attic, I guess.  I wonder if garret's were ever trendy, like google and blogs?

School kids gossiped at recess about the fort they built in the garret last night.  "oh my gosh, your garret is so much cooler than my houses garret", they would say.

hmm, not sure where I'm going with this one.  No where fast, apparently.  At least I googled blog.  At least I'm trying.

"knowing" Pains

I'm 28 and I feel like a well lived cat.
maybe I'm on life... 8?
I don't really regard myself as old, seasoned, or wise.

Yet, when I start to ponder my thoughts,
and study my history,
I reflect on what feels like,
the many lives I've lived,
and all of their unanswered mystery.

Through Painted Deserts/ Donald Miller/ pg. 24

"It's interesting how you sometimes have to leave home
before you can ask difficult questions, how the questions never
come up in the room you grew up in, in the town in which
you were born.  It's funny how you can't ask difficult quesitons
in a familiar place, how you have to stand back a few feet and
see things in a new way before you realize that nothing that is hap-
penning to you is normal."

Warren Buffet

Parents should leave their children enough money so that they can do anything,
not enough so that they can do nothing.

Strength

"Strong people stand up for themselves,

Stronger people stand up for others."

-from the book, "Compelling People" by John Neffinger and Matthew Kohut

2013 Review

With less than 30 days until the new year, I thought I would take some time to reflect on 2013.

The biggest highlight was most definitely marrying the woman of my dreams.  We survived pre-marital counseling and 6 months of wedding planning, and everything came together flawlessly, with our pastor marrying us, preachers wife playing our wedding, and getting to escape all of the fun with our friends and family in a 1976 Cadillac El Dorado convertible.  We enjoyed the best honeymoon imaginable with 10 days in Maui; snorkeled with gargantuan sea turtles, took the most beautiful and crazy drive of my life all the way around Hana (and some rad old man on the side of the road selling hats made from coconuts gave us free passion fruit and pointed us to a fellow vendor with $.25 bananas to dip into it and it was SO GOOD!),went zip lining and watched the sunrise from 10,000 feet.

I joined a new Real Estate brokerage at the beginning of the year and have not regretted it for one day.  I survived my first full year of being in Real Estate 100% for myself.  Produced 5 newsletters from scratch, developed a personal brand and website, made a database of over 150 people, I went door knocking (including trying to market myself to renters and accidentally went to condos to door knock- maybe my most embarrassing moment of the year), developed direct mail campaigns, made cold calls, did multiple open houses, & ended up selling 9 houses worth over 2 million dollars in volume.

Saw every single play done at taproot theater, (6 in all) all were great, Illyria was definitely my favorite!  Produced multiple Real Estate videos, saw author Timothy Eagan speak about his fascinating book about photographer Edward Curtis, I played real golf for the first time ever for Dallas's birthday and I only lost 2 balls.

After multiple attempts went to Jetty island w/ Esther, hung out with the Clark family for the first time in years, watched Preacher's Wife at the Everett Beer Festival, Played flag football with friends & moon walked a touchdown and was sore for 8 days, Bought a guitar buddy, drove up Chuckanut for the first time, threw a synchronicity party on 11-12-13, mourned with the Herold's over losing David. Had countless breakfast's with Josh and David Zahina, listened to countless Dave Ramsey, Dan Miller & smart passive income podcasts, read/ listened to let your life speak, Steve Jobs biography, permission marketing, tribes, compelling people, entre-leadership, contagious, and the E-myth.  I did circuit training over 20 times, watched probably over 50 movies and was surprised at how much I enjoyed Django unchained, paid my car off and got out of debt other than the house.  Wrote over 80 entries on my blog, became an elder, I didn't do most of the goals I set out for at the beginning of the year.  I did help one stranger and I also unexpectedly cooked the best meal of my life, though... Chicken Pesto, mmmmm.  4 more weeks to make miracles happen.