An Easter's Day Meditation

Tomorrow marks the beginning of a new chapter in my life as I progress from one realm to another, financially speaking anyway. I start my new job at a prompt (read: early) 7 am doing something I am wholly unaware of though totally keen on learning. I don't like waking up so early and this is going to just be something I learn to deal with over time and eventually, hopefully, I will be able to start my days a bit later.

There is, as always, a flip side to the whole ordeal however. Early to work means earlier to get home than usual. I'm suspect that most days I will be finished around perhaps 2 or 3 in the afternoon giving me mucho free-time during my evenings. My sleep will suffer more than anything, I am quite used to and happy with getting 8 to 9 hours a night and depending on how early I can actually force myself asleep I may only be getting 6 to 7 now. All in all, not too bad, I know people who get less sleep than that on a nightly basis but it's not in my nature.

Anyway, more meditation. I'm deeply excited to be starting a new career, something I think I may actively be able to refer as a career. I've had jobs in the past but nothing quite this significant. What makes a job into a career anyway? The pay? The hours? The people/connections? I believe it's a combination of all three plus the secret ingredient of enjoying the work. I'm thinking this new job could end up being something I really enjoy for both the work and the ulterior benefits as well. You know, the money, the free time, the travelling etc etc

Reality Grounded is my true baby though. I'm going to do what I need to grow into the new job and get a life established for myself and my wife. But on the side I'm going to be nurturing my creative side, feeding my ideas and working on them closely, micro-managing small details until they begin to blossom and grow and expand beyond my dreams. After such close care they grow so large they become a safety net just waiting for the time when I need them. After some time I make a bold leap forward and my net is there, stronger than ever and ready to whisk me away to happiness-land...

From Sparrow to Crow pt.1

One rather cold winter's day a new life was welcomed into the world. A little sparrow by the name of Atlas emerged from his sun bleached egg, squeaking and chirping, ready to take on the world. Unlike many other birds he was lucky enough to have both his mother and father stick around long enough to try and help him into his majestic flying adulthood.

Atlas was a rather average sparrow in terms of distinction; he had hatched with his father's brown fluffy feather and his mother's pearly white beak. Behind his cold black eyes however laid the intelligence of a bird far beyond that of his fellow hatchlings. His mother and father both lauded his intelligence as they were certain that he would bring great happiness to his nest. He quickly learned to fly and scavenge for insects while also developing an extraordinary habit of tidiness.

The nest he called home was always considerably cleaner than that of the other birds in the tree and much of what his own doing. He took great enjoyment in being a bit of a star amongst the other birds and tried his best not to let them down. One day however, he met his downfall after observing some of the older birds a few branches above him.

He wasn't always the most liked by the other sparrows his age, they saw him as an outcast with his impeccably white beak and his fluffy brown feathers. The others had darker beaks and their feathers so much more rough than his and they flaunted it in front of him. He began to retreat inside himself and stuck more closely to the family of birds in his nest while observing the other birds. He thought maybe if he did what the older birds did, that the sparrows his age would be more kind.

He watched as the older birds began to feed more freely on the food that people would drop for them instead of scavenging on insects like the others did. He watched how they would act in increasingly stupid ways to garner the attention of the humans and then how the humans took such enjoyment from it and fed them without any hesitation. One day he decided he too would feast upon the peoples gifts and hope to impress the other sparrows with his courageous and frivolous tricks.

He eventually worked up the courage to perform his first trick and immediately became hooked on the delicious morsels of bread and cake that the humans would leave for him. He kept it to himself at first, realizing that it was frowned upon, but eventually became too caught up in the game that his act was found out. His family was not happy with him and tried to reform him by forcing him to wait silently and wait for the bugs rather than feed upon the instant gratification of the people's food.

[to be continued]

I Feel Like Writing Something

It's been a slow weekend. I've been battling pink eye and strep throat for the past four days now and have been in a world of pain. I didn't do much except for rest this weekend which gave me ample opportunity to kick back and do something I haven't had much time for recently, play some video games.

I was just about to write up a review of Beyond Good and Evil HD, which just released this past Wednesday in the Xbox Live Marketplace (you can download it here) but ultimately am not feeling up to it at the moment. I will say that it is a gem of a game, originally released years ago for the Playstation 2 and Gamecube, it's finally been given a fresh coat of paint and a new audience. It never sold well the first time around which is a damn shame, I had always meant to pick up a copy but never could afford too but now it's only 10 bucks and will probably decide the fate of the much needed sequel.

All that aside, I don't know much else to write about, I had planned on taking a small day trip out of the city this weekend to get some new pictures and a new post up over at AZ Rogue Travels, my currently 'a work in progress' travel blog but due to being ill that fell through. Things were pretty quiet around here this past weekend and it was really nice.

I'm pushing lots of tea and medicine, hopefully I can kick these viruses before much longer and get back out there on the road. Probably gonna put up a small post at AZ Rogue tonight too.

That's all for now, peace.

Finnegans Wake [pgs. 1-6]

So I've finally started getting more into the book finally, I am still rather hesitant, and most definitely will be taking my time with this read. I have not as of yet found a central sort of story, though it may be starting to take some small shape it is not quite apparent yet. One thing for certain however is just how much fun it is to read.

I walked into the book with my only expectation being 'this might be a bumpy ride' which it most certainly is. On the flipside though, I was not expecting to enjoy it so much. The way Joyce has written the book is phenomenal. There's so much poetry in each line. Lot of usage of repetition, alliteration, portmanteau and even some malapropism which I always enjoy. His so-called dream speech is beautifully put together and most definitely seems to be the focus of the work.

From what I have gathered from various interpretations is that there is a central plot and characters that develop over time but I am not so worried about that. I am beginning to think that the more I read the more adapted to the language I will become, therefore allowing the story to unravel slowly within my mind.

I haven't quite figured out exactly how to make specific posts on other pages yet, so please bear with me while I work on figuring out what exactly I want to do with it all. For the time being, natch, I will be posting here on the 'blog' page. Other things to bear with, spelling errors and such, as I am blogging from my phone. I don't often have time anymore to write from the computer and I would whilst working but my web usage is quite restricted.

Anyway, thanks for reading and hopefully you will come back for more.

Something Wicked [poem]

Something wicked this way comes,
gas masks on, they carry their guns.
For freedom, they march
for the nation, they bark.

Yet who am I to question the game?
They pay all my bills, give me a name,
watch me as I'm walking home,
make me think my property's my own.

And yet I feel this sudden urge
to free myself, to fight and purge,
not just for myself but loved ones too,
and try to squeeze my foot into shoe.

But a freedom fighter, sadly, I'm not.
I'm rather complacent stuck in this plot
of secrecy, lies, corruption and greed
until finally one day our visions are freed.

This piece came out of nowhere. I've been watching a lot of dystopian future type stuff lately though and am really beginning to notice similarities to our current political climate.

Regardless, I really felt a desire to write some poetry and this is basically what I had in mind. Nothing spectacular for certain but hopefully you enjoyed it.

Thanks for reading!

The Price of Christmas [poem]

Sunken, sullen eyes
Snotty, sniffeling noses
Sour, snakeskin lips

Surrounded by a sea of depressives
in the most wonderful time of the year
Homicide
Suicide
Drinking...cider with friends and family

Feigning interest
Waning relationships
Taking gifts and leaving

Bodies built up in a ball of bile and blood
and in the middle a crying boy
but only because he wanted that toy.

Not really sure where I was going with this. Walking around department stores lately though I've noticed this beaten and broken look in peoples faces. That was the general inspiration for the poem at least. The realization that, despite my complete adoration, this season takes a bigger toll on most than they may realize.

My first official post on RealityGrounded, I feel accomplished right now. Thanks for reading.

Ideas Abound

I realize I haven't really been doing much on here, hopefully that will change relatively soon. I currently have some really great ideas that I hope I can find some time to start working on. I should probably change my tagline that I've setup, my main use for this wordpress blog is that I want to experiment with some different writing styles and themes.

Really that's what Reality Grounded means to me, taking reality as it stands all around us and pushing beyond into a realm of free form creativity. As a writer I have come to the realization that I am, if not ambitious, strictly an amateur. I'm struggling to find a way for me to easily express my voice. I've started delving into more YouTube content as of late and hopefully will start finding the time to do the same here.

Even if no one were ever to read these words, I just want to make this a tool for expression and, again, experimentation. Hopefully somewhere along the line I will find something that I can truly say is unique to myself.