IT Director, Photographer, Dad

Inventory? What is free time?

Added on by joel spangler.

Lets see. Where are we? Well, I’ll be honest, 2020 has been a trip so far, but where am I? Well life has a way of simplifying itself when immersed in too much complexity.

  • Am I still coding? Well… Yes and No. Admittedly my quest to master Python has taken a pause, but it has not been wasted, and I do plan on resuming my quest shortly.

  • I have begun to finally get into a groove with the podcast - No, Seriously - And soon it should be a fully operational weekly podcast machine. Editing is a chore I must say.

What else? Well, that is the question. As 2020 wraps up, and the punches have been absorbed, I’m just glad to have made it this far relatively unscathed. I know it hasn’t been so easy for many, and I need to remain aware of my place in the world.

Overall - I think I have a problem typical of so many creative types who have a day job and a family competing for time. I want to do so much and have time to do so little. I would ask, for instance, “Is there a book about this?”. Well there might be, but who am I kidding, when the hell would I read it? I suppose I could digest an audiobook in small chunks on my commute to and from work?

My other problem is me. My interests and passions in life seem to remain fairly constant nowadays. I do enjoy Music, and playing Music. And I think that is task one. How on earth does that manifest at this stage of my life? The days of academic music are long gone for me, and the saxophone is a conquest I no longer have the time or outlet for pursuing. I think it may be time to sell off the Sax, and funnel the proceeds into something new. Namely, I’d like to spend more time on either Piano or Guitar. If we’re being honest, both will win that contest.

In that vein, I think I have found a new way to ingest music, and I don’t know how I hadn’t thought of it before this. I will pick an artist, or musician, album, whatever… And research them and their history. Get an understanding of their defining work and explore. This is how everyone else does it anyways right? You hear the hit, and then dig in. Seems so obvious, but for a long time I have had so many artificial barriers to inviting new music that it always seems complicated.

Noting that this will take time, will not be easy, and could require a therapist… and moving on.

As part of that exercise, I have been contemplating writing these adventures up and publishing them here over time. Could be fun.

Ok, Hopefully my next update here happens before we turn the calendars over to 2021.