and up.

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Nico's Narrator:

Gasp for breath. Not drowned. Lungs still filled with the muddied 2011 water. Cough it up. Shake it off.

Last year, you didn't prove your worth. Your friends did that. Your friends, who threw you lifelines reaching out to you in YouTube comments, tweets, blog comments, emails, IMs, text messages, phone calls. Even in your self-imposed isolation, your friends never faltered and continued to float around you. This, you realize, is what makes them your friends. And this, you realize, means you are nothing without them.

Life has dark times. But your friends will always be a light.

This year, you will not prove your worth.

You will remind your friends of theirs.

Maintaining Gratitude

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Even though it seems to be a seasonal phenomenon among North American bloggers, I feel like all of the thankfulness that abounds over the web for the past two months1 is just the verbalization of a zeitgeist.

This may be entirely subjective, but from where I sit, there is a surprisingly sophisticated self-awareness that comes from the internet generations (mine and those that are younger). While we complain about petty things, we are aware that others have it much worse, and refer to these complaints as "first world problems." We make it a point to shun those who are acting entitled. And more and more, I'm finding that as much as it's common on the internet to be snide, sincerity also exists in similar numbers.

My point is, I realize the goodness inherent to saying you're thankful, but I'm sitting here on this side of the screen and thinking, "Yeah, I know. You always were."

Maybe bloggers spoil me, but I don't see there being a lack of deeper appreciation for things, regardless of the time of the year.

And maybe I have the rest of the internet to thank for that.

  1. I say two months because of our pals in the north. O hai, Canada!

Project: A Year On The Clock

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You know, I'm going to be honest: I've been thinking a lot about money lately and how I have tended to not have much of it. Wait come back! I'm not bitching and moaning, this is the precursor to a year-long project I've got in mind that I am starting as of today. It's neat! I promise!

In the first year of being a full-time independent contractor, I've been cutting back on spending so that I could conserve what little money I do make, and since I'm close to doing it already, I want to try out a hyper-minimalist lifestyle that may or may not actually change my entire life (or at least it will for an entire year). And why am I telling you this? I need to make myself accountable. Having said (or published?) this publicly, I am now responsible for upholding a promise.

There. Now, who says blogs aren't useful? ;)

Anyway, I hope I don't have to amend to the project, because I think I've got it figured out for the most part. I've outlined what I am able to do and what I am not able to do, along with some exceptions. I'm not necessarily planning on working 24/7 -- even though many weeks sure do feel like that. No, the objective is really for me to become frugal, not batshit insane. There is a lot of room for leisure, but what I'm suggesting is that that leisure does not always have to come at a price.

Reader, I humbly introduce to you A Year On The Clock.1

The clock starts now.

 

  1. "On The Clock," if you didn't already know, refers to working (often billable) hours.