At the beginning of the year I mentioned how I'd like to hit a few specific goals with my writing: 100 posts here at The Writing Desk, 50 episodes posted to The Jackalope Serial Company Patreon, and 10 stories submitted to various publications throughout the year. In an effort to hold myself to that goal, … Continue reading (Personal) Accounting for January
Category: mental-health
(Personal) Perpetual Tharn
We're three weeks in to 2018 -- just long enough to settle into the new year and whatever new habits or goals we've set for ourselves. I wanted to push myself towards more mindful behavior this year, doing my best to really dive into right speech, action, and livelihood. While last year was definitely stressful, … Continue reading (Personal) Perpetual Tharn
(Personal) My 2017
Happy New Year! Congratulations to all of us for making it through 2017 with our sanity mostly intact. It was a really rough year, wasn't it? I don't know about you, but just when I thought I was getting a handle on things, something else would come along and knock me off my feet. There … Continue reading (Personal) My 2017
Kwanzaa, Day 7: Imani (Faith)
Habari gani, brothers and sisters? Happy New Year! I'm pretty sure most of us (myself included) are spending the final day of Kwanzaa somewhat sleep-deprived and hungover, so I'll speak quietly and wish you the tastiest of greasy breakfasts and a quick recovery so you can start 2018 getting your shit handled. No matter how … Continue reading Kwanzaa, Day 7: Imani (Faith)
Kwanzaa, Day 5: Nia (Purpose)
Habari gani, brothers and sisters? Today's principle is Nia, or Purpose. This is another one of those blue-sky concepts that could mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people and that can make it a little difficult to talk about. What context should we place Nia in? How does it fit … Continue reading Kwanzaa, Day 5: Nia (Purpose)
Kwanzaa, Day 3: Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility
Habari gani, brothers and sisters? One of the things I'll strive to remember in 2018 is that we're all in this together. We all share the planet we call home and we all share our collective victories and setbacks -- from that perspective, there's just no need to be envious of someone else's success and … Continue reading Kwanzaa, Day 3: Ujima (Collective Work and Responsibility
(Organization) The Pomodoro Technique
One of the 'features' of ADHD is an impaired executive function, which is all kind of fun. Those of us who have a difficult time with our executive functions might have problems with self-motivation, self-awareness, self-restraint, working memory (our inner monologue and imagination), planning and problem solving. In other words, those of us with ADHD … Continue reading (Organization) The Pomodoro Technique
(Writing) Writing and the Anxious Rabbit
Generalized Anxiety Disorder is a mental illness that can be difficult to talk about, mostly because it looks like one of those 'special snowflake' disorders that someone claims to have in order to justify certain behaviors. Even with an official diagnosis and some significant time in a group therapy class, it's the aspect of my … Continue reading (Writing) Writing and the Anxious Rabbit
(Writing) A Future With Me In It
It's getting harder for me to look at the news these days without feeling like I'm staring into the void of our own self-destruction. The current US administration seems obsessed with assuaging the bruised ego of the President, making the lives of the poor and working class as difficult as possible, and letting the rich … Continue reading (Writing) A Future With Me In It
(Personal) What I Brought Back From Texas
After two weeks in Belgium, I flew to Dallas, TX for the final week of my training. It was a pretty wild swing from one place to the other -- Belgium is almost stereotypically European, with tons of small stores, few chains, narrow streets and close spaces; Texas, on the other hand, is wide and … Continue reading (Personal) What I Brought Back From Texas