The Blogging Bug.

A few things have happened since I started this blog not so long ago, and I think they are positive changes in my personal development. I am exploring the vast reaches of the internet to a greater degree and with more serious intent (which, on the downside, has significantly contributed to the number of hours I spend on the internet). It is teaching me a lot about a variety of subjects, not the least of which is what I care about--in reality, in a clicks-per-day kind of way, not just in my head. I am definitely experiencing a quarter-life crisis of sorts, which is apparently the signature of my generation, not that I find that terribly comforting, but blogging is helping me, I think, to figure out what I am doing and how I am going to do it. It's all still in the nascent stages, but it's coming along. As am I. And I'm hoping it is something I will carry through and not give up on--I think it has to be.

Right now Brazen Careerist is featuring a whole series of posts about blogging--why it is great, how it can help you, etc. And if you need more encouragement, Penelope Trunk can point you in the right direction. It has been a great help and source of direction for me. And if you don't know where to start, surf the web and see what others are blogging about--everything from technology to art to design to families to travel to food to politics to well, everything.

Learning from the downward spirals of others...

Have I mentioned recently that I think Penelope Trunk is brilliant? Not this week? Okay, well, she is. Her most recent post is entitled "Make better decisions for yourself by watching decisions celebrities make." Thank you, Penelope, for helping me rationalize my addiction to Perez Hilton. And she actually makes some very valid points.

I mean, as long as my life is in better shape than Amy Winehouse, I'm probably doing okay (such a shame, though, so talented)...

Dangerous Territory

The Brazen Careerist blog claims to be "advice at the intersection of work and life." I would say that Penelope Trunk does a great job of that for the modern business world and I really enjoy reading what she has to say. The only trouble is that, well, when you're an artist, where exactly is the intersection of work and life?

I have always felt that the separation of one from the other is incredibly important for sanity, success, and survival. It's good to have a multitude of things in your life; it can't just be about one thing. That kind of single-mindedness could drive a person crazy. I have also heard from many of my mentors in the biz that the most unhappy, boring people they know are actors who have no life outside of acting. It would seem that there must be an intersection somewhere if life and work are two separate entities.

But the reality of being an artist is that life and work bleed into each other, they mix together, and meld, often in very creative and productive ways. Life holds the experiences art draws on to create new realities. There is endless grey area...As artists, it is impossible for us to live in a vacuum independent of our work. I imagine this to be true for business people as well at times, but not in the same way.

How do we exist in this strange in-between place? It's difficult territory to navigate and there is no good guide that I have yet found. I will continue to ponder this question while offering up my thoughts on this and anything else that falls into my head and knocks about for a while.

Keep creating. Keep living.

Getting Started...

If I had to sum up the last year or so of my life in one word, it would be "lost." If I could use two words, I would add "frustrating." Unfortunately, that is sometimes how life happens. But the ball has begun rolling in the last few months and I finally feel like I'm heading in the right direction (or moving, at the very least). It's time to emerge from "lost" and "frustrating."

So I've started a blog. Clearly.

In the last week or so, life has become clearer to me. I'm not interested in going into all the details--there's a difference between blogging and whining about your personal life and the time for the latter has come and gone. That being said, the details are probably critical to understanding the clarity:

1.) I submitted myself for a bunch of auditions. It may go nowhere, but at least I've done something. Simply being pro-active produces a warm fuzzy feeling.
2.) I've been in a long-distance relationship for a long time. We had a talk this past weekend that helped me figure out my direction from here...
3.) I spend a lot of time on the internet reading, see below.

There's more, I'm sure, but those are the most relevant.

One of my day job co-workers introduced me to Penelope Trunk the other day. I've only been reading her blog for, like, a second in www time, but I am fairly convinced at this point that she's brilliant. First of all, she writes a good blog. She's funny and insightful and smart. Very smart. And honest, I think, which is increasingly difficult to find these days. Anyway, she said that she thinks everyone should have a blog. She even has a guide to starting a blog. All very helpful advice. The point of this, other than to introduce you to a very cool blog, is that I've been thinking about the "blogosphere" for some time now, and Penelope really made me stop and say, "Why not? And why not now?" So I jumped in...

It's in its infancy, obviously, so I cannot promise brilliance just yet. But I will try. I figure the best way to get somewhere is to start...and we'll see what emerges.