Sunday, December 29, 2013
Addendum to Welcome, welcome ...
I forgot to mention what I would be writing about on my blog. Well, the simple fact is, you'll be reading about anything and everything! Whatever catches my fancy, I am going to try to write about it. My thoughts about movies, sports, theatre, life in general ... I'm hoping to make this all-encompassing. In this way, I hope to avoid being a one-trick pony, and stave off the inevitable reader boredom which ensues when one focuses on a single issue over the course of an entire work. Enjoy!
Welcome, welcome! -- aka long-winded mission statement #1!
First off, welcome to my new blog! It'll probably take a little while to get going, but bear with me as I strive to regain my touch and my passion for writing.
First, a little bit about myself. There was a time, not so long ago, when writing was my life. All through my childhood, up to and including high school and university, I loved to write. Short stories, term papers, essays ... I've always been drawn to the written word. Even if I wasn't writing or typing my thoughts out, you would always find me with a book in my hand. I've even been known to have three or four books on the go at the same time. For a while (1997 to 2003), I even combined my love for writing and cinema as a member of the Online Film Critics Society.
After earning a double major arts degree (BA - Theatre, BA - History) at the University of Ottawa, I took journalism in college, hoping it would translate into a career in writing. And, for a while, it did. I worked at a couple of small-town newspapers and did publicity work for some non-profit organizations, but it wasn't the same. I wasn't satisfied with my writing; it wasn't horrible by any stretch of the imagination -- in fact, many people were very complimentary towards my work -- but for me it was like I was absentmindedly buttering bread. Sure, it got the job done, but it just wasn't fulfilling. For me, writing has to come from the heart. I need a reason for the passion to come shining through. Otherwise, what's the point?
And so I drifted, spending my twenties and early thirties avoiding writing. I found different outlets for my creative endeavors: photography, theatre, and music (as you can tell, I fancy myself quite the artiste!). But none of it was professional. To pay the rent, I worked first as a part-time cashier/supervisor, and currently as the full-time accountant/bookkeeper/scanning guru/jack of all trades at a grocery store. A good job, not to be looked down upon, and yet ... and yet ...
A lot has happened to me over the past year. First and foremost was the death of my grandfather. They say that the first time someone close to you dies, it marks you for life. I was lucky enough to go 35 years evading even the slightest glimpse of the spectre of mortality. Or perhaps, I should say, I was unlucky enough to last that long? I guess I always had it in my head that things would forever remain constant, and I was happy enough as it was, I had my friends and family, and why try to change things? Well, Pop's death certainly jarred me out of my self-induced creative stupor. I loved the man. He was what I aspired to be even as a child: a smart, kind man with a sense of justice and honor, who was the strong, silent type, and loved his family unconditionally. He also was always eager to read my latest ramblings, or watch me acting my little heart out onstage with a proud smile on his face. He always had faith that I'd eventually find my niche, but unfortunately I remained locked in my placid cesspool of apathy, and he never did see my name on the cover of a printed book.
I am also starting to question where I am in life, and what I should be doing? The job I'm currently in helps to pay the bills, but does it satisfy me? Not really. There are things I like about the job, to be sure, and the people are for the most part easy to get along with. But never in my wildest dreams did I picture myself where I am at this point in my life. Call it an early mid-life crisis, call it an attempt to make up for lost time, call it what you will -- but I feel the need to put my thoughts on record for posterity, something I haven't done for almost ten years. This pull towards unleashing my inner thoughts upon the world is a major reason I'm taking up the virtual quill once more.
Lastly, but definitely not least, I find myself influenced by my fiancee, Ashley. I'm sure you'll read her name many times in upcoming posts. She is my rock, my life, the very root of my existence. Yeah, I kinda love her! She just finished three years of schooling and is now doing a job she loves, as a registered massage therapist. She's found what she wants to do in life, and quite frankly, that inspires me. Now that we're moving into a new house instead of the cramped apartment we've shared for the past few years, I'm hoping to take this opportunity to rediscover my priorities, as it were. I encourage you to take the trip with me, and follow me as I attempt to shake off the crusty, indecisive yoke of Hamlet and don the can-do passionate cloak of Henry V.
That's the first of many Shakespeare references you'll see in these writings. I hope you'll enjoy this blog. The rest -- at least for this post -- is silence!
First, a little bit about myself. There was a time, not so long ago, when writing was my life. All through my childhood, up to and including high school and university, I loved to write. Short stories, term papers, essays ... I've always been drawn to the written word. Even if I wasn't writing or typing my thoughts out, you would always find me with a book in my hand. I've even been known to have three or four books on the go at the same time. For a while (1997 to 2003), I even combined my love for writing and cinema as a member of the Online Film Critics Society.
After earning a double major arts degree (BA - Theatre, BA - History) at the University of Ottawa, I took journalism in college, hoping it would translate into a career in writing. And, for a while, it did. I worked at a couple of small-town newspapers and did publicity work for some non-profit organizations, but it wasn't the same. I wasn't satisfied with my writing; it wasn't horrible by any stretch of the imagination -- in fact, many people were very complimentary towards my work -- but for me it was like I was absentmindedly buttering bread. Sure, it got the job done, but it just wasn't fulfilling. For me, writing has to come from the heart. I need a reason for the passion to come shining through. Otherwise, what's the point?
And so I drifted, spending my twenties and early thirties avoiding writing. I found different outlets for my creative endeavors: photography, theatre, and music (as you can tell, I fancy myself quite the artiste!). But none of it was professional. To pay the rent, I worked first as a part-time cashier/supervisor, and currently as the full-time accountant/bookkeeper/scanning guru/jack of all trades at a grocery store. A good job, not to be looked down upon, and yet ... and yet ...
A lot has happened to me over the past year. First and foremost was the death of my grandfather. They say that the first time someone close to you dies, it marks you for life. I was lucky enough to go 35 years evading even the slightest glimpse of the spectre of mortality. Or perhaps, I should say, I was unlucky enough to last that long? I guess I always had it in my head that things would forever remain constant, and I was happy enough as it was, I had my friends and family, and why try to change things? Well, Pop's death certainly jarred me out of my self-induced creative stupor. I loved the man. He was what I aspired to be even as a child: a smart, kind man with a sense of justice and honor, who was the strong, silent type, and loved his family unconditionally. He also was always eager to read my latest ramblings, or watch me acting my little heart out onstage with a proud smile on his face. He always had faith that I'd eventually find my niche, but unfortunately I remained locked in my placid cesspool of apathy, and he never did see my name on the cover of a printed book.
I am also starting to question where I am in life, and what I should be doing? The job I'm currently in helps to pay the bills, but does it satisfy me? Not really. There are things I like about the job, to be sure, and the people are for the most part easy to get along with. But never in my wildest dreams did I picture myself where I am at this point in my life. Call it an early mid-life crisis, call it an attempt to make up for lost time, call it what you will -- but I feel the need to put my thoughts on record for posterity, something I haven't done for almost ten years. This pull towards unleashing my inner thoughts upon the world is a major reason I'm taking up the virtual quill once more.
Lastly, but definitely not least, I find myself influenced by my fiancee, Ashley. I'm sure you'll read her name many times in upcoming posts. She is my rock, my life, the very root of my existence. Yeah, I kinda love her! She just finished three years of schooling and is now doing a job she loves, as a registered massage therapist. She's found what she wants to do in life, and quite frankly, that inspires me. Now that we're moving into a new house instead of the cramped apartment we've shared for the past few years, I'm hoping to take this opportunity to rediscover my priorities, as it were. I encourage you to take the trip with me, and follow me as I attempt to shake off the crusty, indecisive yoke of Hamlet and don the can-do passionate cloak of Henry V.
That's the first of many Shakespeare references you'll see in these writings. I hope you'll enjoy this blog. The rest -- at least for this post -- is silence!
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