Category: egocentric

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It’s been how long?

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Anybody still there? If so, what are you doing here? I’m not saying I assume you’re a stalker or anything, but it is a bit weird that you’re here. Granted, it’s even weirder that I’m here.

Honestly, I don’t know why I’m back. I just felt the need to return to my blog and reactivate it. Not sure for what purpose, but I updated the blog, skimmed through some old posts, and felt compelled to add to the pile.

If I had to make up an excuse for not posting, I’d say it’s because I switched jobs—I’m now some kind of vice-principal. But to use that as an excuse would be a lie. At first, I stopped posting because the blog itself felt like too much work. When that became overwhelming, I just stopped writing altogether—blogs, screenplays, everything.

Not sure why. I still want to tell stories, but writing (and making a movie) feels so far out of reach right now that I can’t bring myself to invest the time. I toyed with the idea of writing something different, but nothing really came of it. So yeah, it’s been four years. Time flies.

But why am I back? As I said, no idea. Do I want to write something? Maybe. Do I know what? Definitely not. But maybe something will develop if I just start. Don’t worry—I’m not about to write a novel and self-publish it. But maybe I’ll try a few short stories. Who knows? If I manage to write one, maybe I’ll rediscover that feeling again.

I’m capable of putting words on paper, and with tools like ChatGPT, even spellchecking has become easier.

So, long story short, the plan is to write a short story. I think I’m going for something sci-fi, but I’m still brainstorming. I’ve got a working title, though: PHAROS.

The timeline is fluid, but I’d like to have a decent draft ready by the start of 2025.

Stay tuned.

 

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Passion of the Geeks

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I’ve been busy—not so much with writing but with other things—and I’m finally ready to talk about it. Some of you might have noticed that my YouTube channel is on hiatus. I have ideas for new videos, but I’ve found another area where I’m better suited.

I have a podcast now.

A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine (thanks, Pat, for being my partner in crime) and I soft-launched a podcast. We called it “Passion of the Geeks,” and it’s basically us talking about the things we love. We’re seven episodes in and slowly starting to get the hang of it, so we’re beginning to spread the word. We didn’t set any specific goals, but it would be nice to reach a three-digit listener count per episode. I’d be happy with that. 🙂

So please check out our podcast and leave a comment or review wherever you can. Thanks!

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So far so good

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Let me give you a quick status update. I haven’t been able to keep the writing momentum going, but I did succeed with my reading goal. I finished the first book and started the second one. Exercising has also been going great—at least 2-3 times a week—so there’s that.

The plan is to try and get Alaska moving this week as well. I’m usually quite tired in the evenings, so I’ll aim to write during school hours. I have some free periods, and if I can carve out just half an hour of writing each day, I’ll be good. The goal will be to write at school and rewrite at home—at least that’s the plan.

I’m also working on a new D&D campaign—the next chapter in my Driftworld Saga. I’m adapting Tomb of Annihilation for my setting and characters, scaling it down a bit, populating it with my own NPCs, and adjusting the setting to fit. I just came up with my version of the Death Curse, which I’m calling Snake Fever. It’s almost as devastating.

Yesterday, I went to Zurich with one of my classes, my 7th graders. We went to see Les Misérables. Since I won’t be able to attend their Maturafeier, I proposed an excursion as a “last hurrah.” When I saw an advert for Les Mis in Zurich, it seemed like the perfect idea. Not because teaching them was miserable, but because it felt fitting to share something magnificent with them.

For some of them, it was their first stage musical, and while Les Mis is definitely a tough introduction, they all thoroughly enjoyed themselves. It’s such an impressive show, and the stagecraft alone is worth the price of admission. On the way, we had some great conversations and a good time together. Mission accomplished.

It’s a shame that writing isn’t as easy as entertaining a bunch of 18-year-olds.

Let’s end this post with my favorite song from the show, which also happens to be one of the best songs from the (inferior) movie.

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I know….

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Looking back at my blog history, it seems like my last couple of posts have all followed the same pattern:

  • It’s been a while.
  • I’m not even trying to apologize.
  • I’m sorry.
  • I completely screwed up the goals I set myself.
  • I promise to do better.
  • I have new goals.

Then, inevitably, no new posts for 3–6 months, and the cycle starts all over again. So, let’s just agree to never ever talk about this again.

I actually thought about deleting this blog, but it’s dearer to me than you might think. It’s a big part of who I am, and in some ways, it’s probably closer to my true self than I am on a day-to-day basis. Many of these posts have helped me clarify things about myself, and I want to keep this outlet. Sometimes I have things to say, and sometimes I just don’t—at least, not here.

The last few months have actually been quite good. I didn’t get much writing done, but otherwise, I feel great. I played more D&D than ever, and my newest toy (an Oculus Quest) keeps me moving—well, at least my hands. School is going well, and I feel really on top of things. Not sure if that’s an accomplishment at 37, but I feel good about it.

I even managed to rewrite the first 40 pages of Alaska over the last two and a half weeks. I’m really trying to put my general well-being to good use. I’ve started reading for myself again (Outliers by Malcolm Gladwell—highly recommended), doing some exercise, and, as I mentioned, fixing my writing muscles. Hence this post. I finished the rewrite yesterday, so I’m taking a little break to gather my thoughts and figure out where the story of Ajuk and the Uglies is going. I’ve got some notes, and I think I’ve finally cracked one of the biggest issues.

So, where do I go from here? Don’t know, don’t care, and I’m not making any promises.

Happy 2020—take care and stay tuned… maybe.

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“Life is what happens to you while you’re busy making other plans.”

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… why doesn’t that apply to writing?

To say that I’m behind on my updates and writing would be an understatement. I completely failed after those first few days, and I take full responsibility. No excuses this time. One could argue that I’m exceptionally good at finding excuses or reasons why now (as in any moment I could have written over the last few weeks) isn’t the right time. This “talent” extends to pretty much every aspect of my life.

That said, I’m feeling really relaxed at the moment—and while that’s true, I don’t think it’s the reason I’m not doing the things that are good for me or that I truly enjoy, at least once I get started. 1

So, do I have a plan to change that? Not really. But I’m taking it one day at a time. Next weekend, we have our big concert, so this is a terrible week to start—and that’s exactly why I’m doing it. I’m setting aside some time to work on Alaska. I hope to get back to my “one page a day” schedule soon, but for now, I’m starting with 30-minute writing sprints. That feels manageable, even during a busy week, and the goal is to make writing part of my daily routine again.

Other than that, life is pretty good. I’ve got a handle on my diet again, and I’m on track to be my best possible self. School is going great too, so there’s really nothing to complain about—except my lack of drive and #Momentum. But I’m working on that.

Now, though, I need to rehearse for the concert… and squeeze in those 30 minutes of writing.

  1. Starting to write is so much harder than actually writing. ↩
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#Momentum – The first five Days

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Quick update: I started the “One Page a Day Challenge” on Monday, and so far, it’s been a success. I had to force myself to start, and the first two days were a bit tough, but once you’ve got a “streak” going 1, you don’t want to break it.

I decided to stick with the one-page goal. There were days when I could have written more, but I figured it’s a good idea to always know how to start the next day. So, I’ve been ending each session with a prompt for the following day. I like having a starting point, and once my brain is in writing mode, new ideas naturally come. But that initial spark from the day before really helps me get up to speed.

I’m quite happy with the pages so far. They’ll definitely require a few rewrites—the dialogue is a bit too on the nose, I’m still “finding” the story, and I’m probably missing opportunities to develop the theme. But getting this first version of the story written is more important than aiming for unachievable perfection. First drafts always suck, but that’s what rewriting is for. Fingers crossed I can keep the streak going. The plan is still to have a decent draft by the end of the year.

In other news… not much. The Netflix Dark Crystal show is pretty good. Based on its premise, Carnival Row should be right up my alley, but I had to force myself through the first episode—not a good sign. Other than that, no new shows have really caught my eye lately, probably because there are just too many to keep track of.

While I wait for the next must-see show, I’ll focus on writing and might dive into some D&D or Pathfinder 2nd Edition books. Speaking of that—Amazon, please hurry! I’m really looking forward to comparing rules. I’ve seen the Pathfinder 2 Playtest, but there’s just something about having the actual books in hand that makes it better than scrolling through PDFs. And this is coming from a D&D Beyond power user. 🙂

  1. I’m on day 4—probably too early to call it a streak, but hey, this is my blog, so… ↩
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#Momentum – Here we go again…again

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Yeah, let’s do this again…again.

First things first. I’m back and I’m well, very well actually. I took my time adjusting to normal work life but I can honestly say that I feel exceptionally well. My trip through Ireland had the intended effect. I feel rested, content and ready to conquer the world. Those five weeks really relaxed me in a way I haven’t thought possible. I’m as good as new and ready to embark on the next phase of this hopefully final self-improvement project.

Not sure if this is the second, third or whatever relaunch of #Momentum and I don’t really care. I decided to stop caring about unimportant things and focus on the important stuff. One of the many things I learned or rediscovered in Ireland is the fact, that I am a writer. Yes, I just typed that, and I’ll type it again: “I am a writer!” and I will try to prove that from now on.

Doesn’t matter that I’m an unsuccessful one, doesn’t matter that most of the things I write suck, I’m a writer. I might have to remind myself about that from time to time, but at the end of the day, I like writing and I don’r care what wether I’m successful or not, I love telling stories, I love writing them down, not as much as making them up but nothing is perfect.

#Momentum has been successful in the past but I have to make it permanent. I’m currently listening to the Podcast “Write Along” by David Chen and C. Robert Cargill and I feel energized. I will try to follow the advice from the first episode and set myself a reasonable writing goal. I will probably go for 1 or 2 pages a day, dosen’t sound like much but the idea is to be consistent in achieving your goal.

Another thing I care about is doing a good job teaching my students. Even though I haven’t prepared too many lessons over the summer, I had a good start, my students return a bit more mature from their holidays and I’m cautiously optimistic about my new class. They seem nice and eager to learn so far.

So what are my goals for the immediate future, let’s say December? They can be summed up in three words: Write, work, weight.

Let’s elaborate. As I already mentioned, I’ll try to write one page a day. I might increase that number but for the time being, one page a day, five days a week. That seems achievable. I’m also focusing on work in general. I include teaching and my responsibilities for the “Verbandsmusikfest” in that. I also have to work on my weight again. Stupid me, wha did I let myself go again. Well, long story but I did it once so I know that I can do it again.

This is it for now. I have a lot of work to do.

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Ireland – Part 9 – Leaving on a … Ferry

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So I’m starting to type this on the Ferry from Belfast to Scottland. Yeah, my adventure in Ireland is over. I think its fitting that I leave by ferry, I got in by plane, used busses and trains and cycled through the countryside.

In the time I spent in Ireland, I probably could’ve done more, seen more but I think I did just the right amount. I can honestly say that I cleared my head. I feel more focused than before the trip, there are so many things I know I have to get back to that I just don’t care about right now, it’s absolutely wonderful.

Ireland is a beautiful country, maybe not the weather but I have to admit that I was really lucky, I caught a bit of rain once or twice, that’s just inconceivable in Ireland. I loved the landscape, the people are just wonderful and the beer was really tasty.

It’s hard to say what my favourite thing was, the Cliffs of Morher and The Giant’s Causeway were both great, I thought the Guiness Storehouse was fun, Teeling was awesome, as was Bushmills… and the Galway Craft Beer Tour…well, that was something. I “enjoyed” the history lesson on Derry, Titanic in Belfast, the Pub Crawls, literary and without … there are just to many things to mention. Let’s just say, that I will definitely come back.

I know that this trip will be over in a week, a week to relax, write some more, I made some progress but I have a about 50 pages to go but I think I know where I’m going.

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Ireland – Part 8 – Double Double Toil and Trouble

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So, I spent about a month in Ireland now and the last two days in Derry and I am by no means an expert of Irish History but from what I have gathered over the last couple of weeks and especially my time in Derry… I have to admit that I had no idea how interesting and complicated the history of this island is.

Most of the stories I heard make it hard to root for the British in this conflict and I’m having a hard time thinking of facts that could change that. If I had to compare it to something, I’d say that British-Irish relations resemble those of China and Tibet.

Even with all the differences, there are a lot similarities. The Plantation of Ulster for example, how’s that different from what China is doing now, settling Han Chinese in Tibet.

But I digress. I was particularly moved by the accounts of “Bloody Sunday”. It’s one of those things that really make you question humanity. I knew a few things about it but I have to admit that I used to believe some of the British government’s lies about the event. Not anymore. All the victims were innocent, they were murdered. A british government report says so. The end. But years of misinformation and half-truth (lies) don’t go away in a second.

I will probably learn a few more things about this conflict in Belfast but let me just say that it is a conflict that is deeper than religion or nationalism and I hope that we as humans can start to work to overcome conflicts like this everywhere, not just here in Ireland.

I have to admit though, even with BREXIT looming, I think they are going to be fine. There are problems on the horizon, sure, but the Irish will manage it. They will overcome.

Now Entering Free Derry.

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Ireland – Part 7 – Crossing Borders

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I just arrived in Derry, or Londonderry, not sure about that one yet. So it technically/basically means that my time in Ireland is over. There wasn‘t really a border-crossing, I guess that‘s the point at the moment and helped solving most of the issues. I really enjoyed my time in Ireland and I actually don‘t think that Northern Ireland will be that much different.

I plan to do some historic walking tours and explore the city. Letterkenny was nice. I had two decent meals and good some serious amount of writing done.

I‘m quite pleased with my output and I hope to be able to match, maybe even increase my output. I made some good progress with alaska and I think I finally cracked about 80% of it. There are still some details to work out but I have a good feeling about the changes I made and the pages I wrote. I feel that the story and the characters finally take shape and things I had issues with, finally feel good and natural. I even think that I have an ending that works.

I‘ll probably write a longer wrap-up post about my thoughts about Ireland and about my writing progress, I‘m just a bit too tired right now, so you have to wait for that a bit.