The Erstwhile Chronicles: Keeping Tabs: An Erstwhile Birthday

Twenty-seven was a good year. It was the first year where I started to feel like I could take charge of my life, where if I wanted to accomplish something, I could make it happen. I haven't had that feeling for a long while, and it was nice to finally feel some sense of agency in what I was doing. I felt less and less like I was being swept along by life and more and more like I was guiding myself in the flow - not doing the sweeping, mind you, but 'going with the flow'. It's a nice feeling to have.

Twenty-eight's been kicked off with a bang. My party, themed "Bear Down for Midterms", was a hit. It'll probably be the last blow-out birthday party I host for a while, but it was a great time. I had a great brunch the next day, I watched my all-time favorite movie in the world on Sunday, I had a great birthday dinner, I talked to everyone in my family, and I received some great presents. I'm lucky. I hate the term 'blessed' because it implies favoritism by some abstract imposed religious entity. I'm not a big fan of lucky either, because it acknowledges how random and crazed life truly is. But I prefer it to 'blessed'. (Sidenote #1 - if you use the word 'blessed' in conversation with me, I'll do my best not to, but I'll probably end up judging you.)

Now, two things before I move on. An update on my goals for 2015.

THINGS I'M GOING TO DO IN 2015:

Not smoke - I've had a weak day (my birthday party), but I'm doing really well otherwise!
Get a play performed/read somewhere - I'm working on that, but May is looking favorable for getting the latest draft of The Woodsman read by a friend's company.
Write Two to Three New Full Length Plays - Outlining/researching one play, working on culling together ideas for a second one. Not sure which happens first, but we'll just wait and see.
Write a Novel - Done. April's work is the second draft.
Write Five Short Plays/Movies/Sketches - THREE DOWN. I've got first drafts for two separate short films and a third that's reached second draft - it's intended for a work project, but it's still something I'm proud of...and will be a lot of fun to work on.
Travel to Two Places I've Never Been Before - Well, see...taxes are a thing....this plan is on hold until I either get a second job, a full time job, or I win the lottery. Considering that I don't buy lotto tickets....
Audition for Ten New Plays - Auditioned for two, nothing so far. But I've got a lot of writing, so that's not as big a concern for me.
Expand the Recorder - YES
Never Go Back to the Restaurant (for work) - I'll add this caveat - I miss the people there a lot more than I figured I would. Let that speak towards the quality of the people I've met there. That being said, while I've gone back to visit, I don't see myself going back into the restaurant industry. For now.
Run Two to Three 5K Races - Dude, do you have any idea how cold it is outside?
Get New Headshots - not yet
Keep Up the Good Work - This list was a lot more abstract than I remember it being.
Get Paid for Writing - Um...well, we'll figure that out.
Keep Extraneous Spending Low - Whoops
Find Someone to Volunteer For - I attended a Volunteer Expo! I signed up for three separate groups with an environmental focus! It was great fun! I think I can actually follow through on this one!

So far, so good. Two months in, I'm plowing through a lot of writing, and I feel as good about it as I've ever felt. Here's hoping 2015 continues to be a good year.

Before I leave you, let's go through what my good friend WILLIAMS (of the Cleveland variety) calls 'The Travis Cook Playlist'. In her words: It consists of 8 songs that immediately bring Travis Cook to my mind, for one reason or another (and sometimes none).

1) 'Trampled Underfoot' by Led Zeppelin