It took me a long time to get a handle on my inbox. I tolerated many things I wouldn’t stand for now. The reality is I may not have realized I could do anything about it. Or that decluttering my email would make checking my messages a much more pleasant experience. Now, on a fairly […]
You don’t need inspiration. Being creatively stimulated is… well, it’s necessary. But some people believe they should wait for inspiration before they begin writing. Inspiration needs to be stoked, prodded, and probed. It should not be your muse. Inspiration should be your therapist. Go to it for answers or, at least, for a sounding board. […]
When it comes to organization, space is essential. I mean space in the same way that the artist refers to white space. I’ve never thought of it this way before, but organizing a home could be—at the risk of sounding extreme—like curating a museum. There are probably people who would abhor this idea and have […]
The interplay between mood and tone is what always brings me back to Haruki Murakami. I can see how some might complain that it makes his books too similar. But I don’t see a whole lot of people complaining about his writing. I admire the fact that the work carries a similar attitude throughout his […]
Writing flash fiction was one of the ways I trained myself to write a book. I made a few attempts at writing a full-length novel just over ten years ago and failed on multiple occasions. The problem was I hadn’t fully prepared myself to write a book. First off, I hadn’t created an outline. Secondly, […]
At present, I’m trying to work HIIT (High-intensity interval training) back into my regular workout regimen. I’m currently in the “failing up” stage. In other words, I’m failing to make it a habit but getting closer with each attempt. In the past, my workouts involved a bit of jump roping and a few sprints a […]
I think I’ve been fascinated by Japanese gardens ever since I first laid eyes on one. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve grown more and more enthralled with the idea of building my own one day. And if I did, it would have to include a tea house. The primary problem with this dream is that […]
In my household, there’s a big basket full of remedies for common ailments (Aspirin, antacids, etc.) and another one that my wife uses for baking supplies. In the pantry, there are more storage boxes. There are even a few bins in the fridge. The exception may be our spices, which we keep on a lazy […]
