Life

A to Z Challenge: G

Ggrammar-folk

noun
Educated people.

GOLDEN SLUMBERS

“The best way to make your dreams come true is to wake up.”
―Alexander Theroux

Sleeping is nice, isn’t it Dear Reader?

Lying there all wrapped up in your warm comfy blankets, wrapped up in yourself and your own world, wrapped up in your dreams and thoughts as you drift in and out of slumber. The sounds of the world is filtered through your subconscious – distant and hazy, not mattering. Not relevantr. I love sleeping, don’t you?

But it is time to wake up.

Nothing can be accomplished when you are asleep; dreams will remain just that as long as you allow yourself to slumber. Only when we are awake and aware can we make things happen, take control, create change in the world. And trust me:

The world needs changing.

The time for complacency and contentment is at an end, at least for me. We all have different starting points, different qualifications, different opportunities – what we make of them is up to us.

And every one of us has the power to change the world.

 But we have to be awake to do it. The question is, will we remain asleep and let others shape the world for us or will we step up and change it ourselves?

So wake up, get out of bed, go outside.

Use your dreams and your skills and your abilities to change something for the better – for one person or for many, even if it is just in your local neighborhood.

Even if it is just for yourself.

One of These Things First

It’s been a while Dear Reader.

Time marches ever on and as always I get caught up in the day to day. This time around I have tried to be at least somewhat productive amidst it all, with mixed results.

Pain, preparation and procrastination are the main reasons for my absence.

Preparations for what, you may wonder? Well, several things actually; everything from life changes to the upcoming blogging challenge. My ’30 Days to a Clean and Organized House’ degenerated into ’28 Days Later’, my daily writing routine became a nightly ‘why-didn’t-I’ and my art projects are still safely contained in their tubes, crayons and pencil tips – unreleased and unrealized. All of it is waiting for me as deadlines and other tasks approach rapidly.

But first thing’s first!

Tomorrow sees the first day of April and the first of my A to Z blog posts.

I’ve tried to keep the format simple – a hand drawn letter and an obscure or archaic word for each day – with a loose theme of language and writing. In accordance with the challenge I will be posting Monday through Saturday, and instead of adding my regular posts to an already full schedule I aim to add to the above format and will try to stick to whatever the letter of the day is. My main focus will be fulfilling the second part of the challenge, though: visiting the other participating blogs.

So tune in tomorrow, Dear Reader – no April Fools here. Well…except myself, of course.

Just a quick note to say that I have just signed up for the A to Z April Challenge!

This means that, during the month of April, I will do a blog post on each letter from A to Z! I have yet to decide exactly what form and theme this will take, but I have a month left to decide.

So stay tuned, Dear Reader!

Time of No Reply

How quickly the days pass.

Yet another week has gone by where I haven’t managed my bare minimum of blog posts. It is not for lack of trying – I’ve tried to sit down and study the blogosphere for interesting reads to repost; I’ve tried sitting down with pen and paper to produce a drawing I can post. I even had a plan for Wednesday’s post.

Things have been busy.

Busier than usual, even. Two unexpected time thieves and an ongoing lack of sleep are partially to blame, but even so I am getting things done. The apartment is coming together, like a huge puzzle where the initial chaotic jumble of colours and fabrics has taken the shape of something that is starting to look like a home.

There’s still a lot to do.

But now we are down to the details, finding places for the small things and decorating, cleaning and fixing up as we go. Just a few more pieces now and it will be finished.

But it’s time for a break.

As I’m typing this I’m on my way to the Stockholm Wine Fair, where a friend is showcasing the wines his import company deals in. So for the next few hours I will be relaxing, glass in hand and in good company, trying to find out where the borders of that mythical land ‘Moderation’ can be found…

See you next week, Dear Reader!

Valentine

“He loved her, of course, but better than that, he chose her, day after day. Choice: that was the thing.”
―Sherman Alexie

TTHappy Valentine’s Day, Dear Reader!

I hope you have someone to celebrate the day with, be it a friend, lover, spouse or perhaps a new interest.
Valentine’s day can be full of pressure and expectation, but it doesn’t have to be that way – we can celebrate our love for each other with just a short message of appreciation.
Two years ago I was single and not really dating anyone, so instead I wrote a Valentine’s letter each to three friends who had meant a lot to me during the past year, telling them how much I appreciated having them in my life and how they had improved things for me.

Today I encourage all of you out there to write to a friend or loved one and tell them what they mean to you.

One of those friends has since become so much more to me.
What started out as a deep and intimate platonic friendship slowly grew to something more, and since about a month we are living together.
Every twist and turn along the way has strengthened our bond, and I can not even imagine a future without her in my life.
She means the world to me, and I fall in love all over again every time I see her smile.

I choose her, always – moment after moment, day after day.

circle

I Love You, T-!

Excitable Boy

“Everything in the world is about sex except sex. Sex is about power.”
–Oscar Wilde

“Neomasculinity”

Have you heard that term, Dear Reader? If you haven’t, be glad! The term is a misnomer, attempting to justify the lowest form of sexist, misogynist, chauvinistic supposedly ‘manly’ behaviour that seems to be on the rise behind computer screens in basements, garages and bachelor pads all over the world.

Where did this asshattery come from?

Some will blame patriarchal structures, some will blame the entitlement modern society instills in its citizens, others will blame multiculturalism or feminism or bad parenting or the downfall of politeness in society. I don’t think it is that easy.

I am a man.

I was brought up with a mix of traditional values an modern thinking, adopting both gentlemanly chivalry and gender equality. I was surrounded by strong women and strong men, by socialism and libertarianism, by traditional values and progressive thinking. I am very confident in myself – in my gender, in my sexuality, in my masculinity. I don’t feel a need to prove myself to others and I know I’m not perfect.

Maybe that’s why I can’t understand this femophobic trend.

As a long time student of the human psyche and culture, I think I have a fair understanding of the more traditional expressions of manhood and patriarchal structures. Some of my views and conclusions may be controversial or speculative, but until I find convincing evidence to the contrary I will stand by them. I can understand the desire to buy sex, to dominate and humiliate (as well as the desire to be dominated and humiliated), to assert control and exaggerate expressions of gender. I can even understand why some resort to violence in the pursuit of such things, though I will never condone or excuse it. But I cannot understand for the life of me understand the reasoning of those who support and express the “neomasculine” views.

They call themselves real men, but they aren’t men at all.

A real man doesn’t need to oppress women to assert himself – real men celebrate strong women instead of feeling threatened by them. A real man is in control of himself and has no problem accepting rejection or accepting a ‘no’ – even if it comes in the middle of intercourse. A real man makes his partner feel safe, cared for and respected – whether it’s a life partner, a a friend with benefits, a one-night stand or hell, even a prostitute! The lowbrows who demean, belittle, ridicule and threaten women (and usually lgbt-people as well) from behind their keyboards and aliases aren’t men at all.

They are excitable boys.

Insecure, immature, insolent children with a false sense of importance and entitlement. They seem to think the world owes them something and they act as if they are they are the ones who are mistreated.

What’s worse is, they aren’t all sociopaths, uneducated halfwits or isolated extremists either. Many of them are educated, intelligent, functioning members of modern society. That’s what frightens me the most. Their level of ignorance cannot be fought with reason and education, nor can it be conquered by violence or be legislated away.

Their mindset is a disease, and it seems to be spreading.

But how can we treat it?

Time Passes By

Time can be an elusive thing.

My life is in quite a bit of chaos at the moment, but for the most part it is the food kind of chaos.

That’s why I haven’t been posting much here.

I have been writing, though. As of this post I am just over 10,000 words into my new project and though I’ve encountered some resistance now it had been going well.

I should be working on my project rnow, but I thought I’d give you a quick update instead.

There’s still a lot to be done before I’ll have the chance to get back into a healthier routine, but at least I’m consciously working on it.

My creativity has to be on the back burner for a bit, but I won’t give up on it completely.

Despite everything else going on, my goal is to keep up a schedule of three posts a week, just to keep the habit and make it part of my new routine to be checking in.

I’m off to do some work now.

Starting Over Again

“Every single decision you make turns you a little bit into the person you are going to be tomorrow.”
—Chris Hadfield

 

A week of the new year has gone by and things are slowly moving forward.

I’m on my eighth day in the Word Mines and about 5,000 words into my new project. Scrivener is serving me well, though I have barely even begun to explore its features, and it has allowed me to both pants and plot my way through the first leg of the story. Writing in isolated scenes is a new experience for me – one I am growing quite fond of. Most of the writing so far has been done on my smart phone – also a first. Previously I have only written blog posts that way, but with the overview Scrivener gives me I always know what I need to write next, and my daily target of 350-700 words is a perfect length for writing on the bus or on a break. Once home I can easily copy-paste the text into the right place in the story, do some quick edits, look ahead at the next few scenes and see if I made my target. Then I may or may not write more as dictated by time, discipline and inclination.

So far so good.

Rearranging my living space has been more challenging, but that is finally starting to come together. Next week should see all the important changes finalized, then there will just be details and two or three unnecessary projects left. I’ve set up a corner of my living room for painting and made drawer-space there for my art materials. With a bit of luck and some compromise I should also be able to find space on my desk for writing related resources. If everything works out, by month’s end I should have a home environment more conductive to creative pursuits than it has been for a long time.

How’s your year shaping up, Dear Reader?

I hope you have had a good start, with not too many resolutions broken, and that you have all be sort of plan or goal or dream for the coming year. If not, well…the Chinese new year is coming up. You can have a second chance at your first week after that!

Take a moment, get things started and begin the year working toward your dreams!