I think we can all agree that writing is hard. And when I say it is hard I mean that consistently writing is hard. I love writing I just wish I did it more. I recently stumbled upon my collection of notebooks from when I was writing my first full novel. Reading through them showed me that I have a lot of fun ideas I just need to get them out of my head and on to some pages.
I am currently trying to transfer all those notebooks into my remarkable 2 tablet. I am sure I could scan them in and save them as pdfs, but it has been a lot of fun reading and copying over the notes. The only problem is that I don’t write by hand very much anymore so my hand is getting so tired. It also doesn’t help that my remarkable marker pro broke so it doesn’t work great anymore.
I have a new pen thing coming so I can continue to transfer to the remarkable. And then I need to rewrite that first novel with all of my new knowledge and time.
This is the puppet I have made that gets the most use.
All I am saying is that if you are not watching Hallmark (tm) movies this Christmas you are a fool. I recommend Hot Frosty
I am a person who loves looking fancy. I love wearing ties, both bow and otherwise, nice slacks, a jacket. But I don’t want to be boring, so there has to be bright colors and amazing patterns. My dream is to own multiple three piece tweed suits. Or, I guess, that was my dream.
For the five years prior to the pandemic I wore slacks, a button up shirt, and a tie every day I worked. It started when I was doing admissions at a long term care facility and continued through a hospice marketing job and into my activities director position. But when the pandemic happened I started slipping. I stopped wearing ties, jeans became part of my routine, and sometimes I would wear a sweater with just a t-shirt underneath gasp.
Once I left healthcare I started working from home exclusively. Athliesure became my wardrobe. I wear sweatpants and a sweatshirt everyday. Fancy is gone from my wardrobe. And I miss it.
But how do I bring it back? I sit at a computer 90% of my day and I only see people virtually. So do I wear a button up and tie and sweatpants? Since I run my own company I don’t really have a dress code. And the way I look is less important than the expertise I bring to my field.
Granted I have never really cared what other people think about how I dress/look. I have always dressed fancy for me. I wonder if this is the last bit of my recovery from my mental breakdown, this interest in dressing fancy because it makes me happy. I hope so.
That has been the hardest part of dealing with my anxiety: not knowing if I am doing something because my brain is an asshole or if it is just me. And it is all me, just different parts of me.
Hopefully this is me continuing to move forward with my mental wellbeing.
For the last couple years I have lived in the world of web3… which for the longest time I (and most people) referred to as NFTs. It is entirely possible that you have not heard of NFTs but it is much more likely that what you have heard has been overwhelmingly negative. Which is a bummer because the technology that makes these magic jpegs go is fascinating. Let’s talk about it.
Non Fungible Tokens, that is what NFT stands for, are unique tokens that exist on the blockchain. To break that down further, an NFT is a work of art that lives on a giant worldwide computer with a public record of ownership. To make it simpler, imagine purchasing a physical work of art from an artist you love and the purchasing of that art work is noted in public record. If you sell that artwork to someone else, that transfer gets recorded and the new owner is noted.
I am not sure that makes any more sense. I have spent the last 18 months explaining NFTs to individuals and fortune 500 companies… and I am still not sure it always makes sense. We will come back to understanding in a bit, but first lets talk about why NFTs are amazing.
When I was first introduced to NFTs the part of them that really grabbed my attention was the way they were built to protect artists. It is really hard to make money as an artist and once your art is sold you receive no more monetary benefit from that work of art. So if you sell it for $50 and the person who buys it sells it for $10,000, you still only have $50. NFTs change that.
As the creator of an NFT you can choose the amount of royalties that you want to receive for subsequent sales of your art work. This can be from 0-10%. And these rules live forever. That means as your work becomes more popular (or you become more famous) you can continue to make money off our your work. Which, to me, seems only fair.
One of the, I hesitate to say, bad sides of NFTs are flippers. People who want to buy and sell NFTs in order to make money. These people are not interested in the art work, the artist, the community, or anything other than making money. They have told themselves that they “deserve” to get paid for purchasing art and will do everything in their power to pump the value of an NFT so they can dump what they purchased.
This is not an artists first attitude and goes against what I believe the power of NFTs to be. There are flippers who don’t think that they should have to pay artist’s royalties and have built marketplaces that do not honor the royalties for creators. This is not great, but led to some interesting community discussions around artist royalties and what artists deserve/ are owed.
I have headed off on a tangent about artist royalties… that is a discussion for another day.
NFTs are a wonderful tool for artists to connect with their fans in a new way. It is also a way for artists to continue to get paid for their work long after it has passed from their hands. And that is why they are important.
As I have stated numerous times on this blog I have a lot of hobbies. This is a problem that a lot of people with ADHD have because we get super excited about something, buy the stuff to do it, get started, and then the next awesome hobby comes along. It is a constant cycle that I have finally learned to just ride instead of trying to stop.
What this means is that I don’t get rid of hobby supplies when I stop being interested in the hobby… because it will come back around and I will regret getting rid of it. This also helps with the ADHD tax of spending money on a thing only to get bored and get rid of them.
By allowing the cycle of hobbies to guide me I don’t feel the immense guilt I used to feel when I would stop doing a hobby. I am able to put the hobby supplies away and start the next hobby with a clear mind. This also gives me a great depth of options when I start to get bored with a hobby.
My current menu of hobbies is:
making puppets
sewing
painting miniatures
playing the uke
learning the banjo
writing
drawing
synths
I am guessing that there are more hobbies in my cycle that I am forgetting. The handiest thing about the cycle is that I don’t limit when I can jump hobbies. I can spend a couple days painting minis, then pick up my uke for a mini jam session, and then go right back to painting minis.
As will most things in my life I am a jack of all trades and a master of none. Which sometimes bothers me. I know people who are experts in their fields and it is impressive to watch them work. I always dream of being an expert in something, but as I have gotten older I have realized the strengths that my multiple hobbies have given me when I need to learn something new.
I hope this helps people like me, with ADHD and too many hobbies, come to grips with how they can manage the cycle of hobbies without feeling shame that your interests are changing again.
Everyone has hobbies right? Or if they don’t they want one. Hobbies are the things that keep us sane when work sucks, or life sucks, or whatever. Having a thing you do that makes you happy is important.
One of the hard parts of having ADHD is that I am not great at finishing things. I am an expert at starting projects, probably one of the best in the world at starting things.
I am unclear if my passionate curiousity is part of my ADHD or if it is just who I am, but I am in love with learning new things. Not enough that I will ever have a bachelors degree, but I am constantly researching and learning new things.
Take those first three paragraphs and you can imagine what my hobbies look like. I have many hobbies, I rarely finish projects, and I constantly aquire new hobbies. It has taken actual will power on my part to not continue buying things for hobbies I don’t actually do.
What is great about this “problem” is that I am never bored. If I don’t feel like doing one hobby, I can jump over to another without feeling guilty or anything.
Here is the list of current hobbies that I am activly participating in:
Puppet fabrication
Minecraft
Music production
Quilt piecing
Dungeons and Dragons
Ukulele Playing
Knitting
Writing
Drawing
Each one of those branches off into its own little side branches. Which leads me to new things to research and try out.
One of the “problems” I currently have is I am in a place where I can spend money on hobbies, instead of just looking and never buying. Because of my ADHD I lack impulse control so not buying things is super hard.
Since the internet makes buying things so easy and a lot of the equipment I need to do things I am fascinated with is no longer hard to optain I have been able to explore things I couldn’t before.
Puppet building is the greatest example of this. When I first made puppets about ten years ago I used inferior materials. The good stuff was to difficult to obtain and so I made do with what I had on hand. Now I can find amazing materials that take my puppets to the next level and they show up in a couple days.
I have often thought that I should prioritize my hobbies. Pick the ones that are my favorite and focus on those. I have even read that focusing on multiple things makes you mediocre at all of the things. But I do it all for fun so who cares. Just like when I was entertaining I will be a Jack of All Trades, Master of None.
If you look at the list of hobbies that I work on and take out the games, you are left with a list that is all about visual story telling. Making puppets, making clothes, making music, drawing storyboards, and writing a story. If I would take the time, I could make a movie. I probably won’t, but I am developing the skills to do just that.
What I need to do is figure out how to make my hobbies into a Voltron like hobby. Combine them all into one super hobby. That would be so awesome. Or maybe I should just make a mascot costume.
Still adjusting to taking medication for my ADHD. When I am productive, I am super productive. But when I am distracted it is the same. Also getting adjusted to meds is weird because my body doesn’t know what to do. Sleeping is hard, but I have learned that it really isn’t. I have been waking up feeling rested, which is strange because I feel like I am not sleeping. I am pretty sure that my brain is just being a butthead and dreaming about not sleeping. What a creep!!
I am still in love with the ukulele. It is so much fun to play and I find it calming. There are some chords that are stupid and hard to play but I am learning. It seems to be the chords that use all four of my fingers that give me the most trouble. My secret joy is scales. I love playing them, gradually speeding up and then BAM!! warp speed.
My writing schedule is going well. I have loaded myself up with lots of different projects, which is great. But… I am not always good at staying on task. Currently I am rewriting Calliope and the Living Biologic, first edits of Rio Borealis, and planning The Problem with Portal Five. The nice thing about this schedule is that it allows me to practice many different parts of writing that I am not very good at.
Don’t forget that you can support my writing efforts on Patreon
I didn’t get as much writing done as I would have liked. I was distracted by the ukulele, and focussing was an issue. The last part of the month was more effective once I started taking ADHD meds.
I started editing Rio Borealis and I have learned a lot in the last year. My first draft was a lot less rough than Calliope was. I am also enjoying the story that I wrote and can’t wait to share it with everyone.
For Calliope I have found things that I want to change. I am having a huge internal debate on whether I should change things or leave them the way they are. As soon as I figure it out I will be able to move forward.
Meds for Life! I started taking meds for my ADHD finally and it has been interesting. Oh I also had a colonoscopy, so that was fun. I am healthy and all that jazz. I quite drinking soda and dealt with some fun headaches around caffeine withdrawal. So that was fun.
I am finding ADHD meds to be very helpful in dealing with my symptoms and I am finding being able to focus on a plan long term to be quite nice.
Projects
Bow tie project is going well. I am getting ready to start making ties for others, so if you are interested fill out the [form](http://dylan.la/2j1ogU3)
Don't forget that you can support my writing efforts on [Patreon](https://www.patreon.com/dylanreed)
After my colonoscopy the doc came in and told me that everything was good. There was nothing weird, or serious. He took one biopsy just to be safe. I should get the results. After that I should have a clean bill of colon health. So, good news.
Not too long ago I went to the bathroom, number 2 to be specific, and when I stood up to inspect my work I saw, to my horror, that there was blood in the water. Enough blood to make me concerned. The water wasn’t a bright red, but it wasn’t a pastel pink either.
I have had hemorrhoids in the past. And like all things that have to do with your butt, they are not to be spoken of. It is not a good conversation starter, “Hey, I have hemorrhoids.” All because it is on your butt.
Hemorrhoids, those nasty little butt hole pimples, sometimes burst. When they burst you will find blood on your wiping material of choice. It is like a cat scratch worth of blood. Nothing to worry about, but can be a surprise. As an added bonus, it will now itch the rest of the day.
But this time, the amount of blood I saw was not on the wiping material, but instead all over the bowl of the toilet. It had splattered and splashed and was disgusting. My first reaction was “What!?!” followed by a more calm, “ What the actual fuck is happening?” Immediately I made doctor’s appointment.
When I texted Sarah about it, which is a normal thing to text to your spouse, she asked, “Did you check for ketchup packets under the seat?” Because that is the best\worst practical joke. I had checked. Not ketchup.
The next day when I went to the doctor’s office to get checked out, I assumed that it wasn’t going to be fun. I had already been playing through the worst case scenarios, which in my mind involved a stranger examining my butt hole. I mean that is the worst that could happen, right?
They weighed me, I was please to learn that I was wearing eight pounds of clothes, asked me for my height, and sat me in a room. They asked me all sorts of questions about drugs, tobacco and allergies. Then we got to the fun question.
“What brings you in today?”
I had already told the lady on the phone, the receptionist, and they apparently hadn’t written it down. Do a lot of people lie about rectal bleeding to get the free finger up the butt? Internally I rolled my eyes and explained the situation.
He was very polite about the whole thing. After taking my blood pressure and temperature, he left me waiting for the doctor to come in.
I waited.
And waited.
Eventually there was a knock at the door and in walked the doctor. This was a new doctor to me, because I am bad at going to the doctor. Not anything against doctors, but I don’t go unless I feel bad. Which Rebecca the Receptionist told me was a bad idea.
The doc was a nice lady, dark hair shot with grey. She sat down on the rolling stool and started asking me questions. Diet, family history, all that jazz. Then we got to the question of the day.
“What brings you in today?”
Sighing, I explained everything again. She asked more specific questions and then said the words that everyone wants to hear at the doctors office.
“You know I am going to have to do a rectal exam.”
Not a question, but a statement of fact. The only way to get to the bottom of things was to dig in and figure it out. All I could think was a very confused “Yay.”
Because I am me I said, “Only if you buy me dinner first.”
And too my surprise she started to laugh. Not the indulgent laugh of the ticket taker at a movie theater who says “Enjoy your show,” and you say “You too.” But a belly laugh of someone who understands the situation fully.
After we finished laughing it was back to business. She handed me a thin paper sheet and stepped out of the room. This being my first rectal exam I dropped my pants and laid on my stomach on the table.
When she came back in she took one look at me and laughed again. She had me roll over on one side and took up her position near my butt. I heard the squish sound as she squeezed lube onto her gloved hand and prepared myself.
How does one prepare for a rectal exam? All I could think about was that instead of the dinner joke I should have gone with the, “But I haven’t studied,” joke. I cleared my mind. I went to my happy place. I took deep breathes.
And then I was pulled back into the present.
After she was done she threw the glove away and left giving me a chance to get dressed. When she came back in she explained that she hadn’t found anything that would explain the blood. And that I would probably need to get a colonoscopy done.
Yay.
Until then I just need to be careful and not poop out too much blood. So I am trying that out.
Dylan Reed has always been interested in a good story. Raised without a TV he spent a lot of time with books and loves reading. Dylan has been a professional entertainer, studied commercial diving, and loves random trivia. He brings all of this and more together in his stories.
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Dylan Reed has always been interested in a good story. Raised without a TV he spent a lot of time with books and loves reading. Dylan has been a professional entertainer, studied commercial diving, and loves random trivia. He brings all of this and more together in his stories.
The channel crossing happend on last sat. it kick major….well nevermind. it was a lot of fun. i was on a boat the size of my moms mountaneer with my car parked in front for length and about twice as wide for about 13+ hrs. it was quite a bit of fun. We did it we broke the world record of a dive pull sled in cold water continously of 52 miles. the dive pull record is actually 62 miles but that was done scubado with lots of breaks in the caribian… wimp. anyway a week from this saturday i should be doing my juggling it will be fun. love all but especieally sarah. what happend to the vault girls??
tomarrow is the day of the channel crossing. hopefully. i am very excited for scott and the whole kronus team. scott is going to be underwater for 10 hours and travel at least 30 miles. the sub is frickin awesome. i am now a cockpit ergonomics designer. basically that means i put all the ball valves in places that were easy to reach and the hoses do not interfere with general operations of the sub. i also got pizza. it was good. i was at scotts for a long time today and another long day tomarrow. everyone have a nice day.
sorry it has been so long since i have writen. i am having a good time but am very tired and so i am lazy. i have been spending most of my time workin and going to school. it has been fun. on sun i worked 16.25 hours at hollywood. don’t do that ever. granted i made over 130 dollers that day but still it kindof sucked. at school we have a final and it is going to be so easy. i am going to get at least and 88% so that should be fun. I am almost done and will have to move home soon. YIPEE. i am so excited. i can not wait. this weeks movie realeases are scooby doo and enough with j-lo. spider man on vid comes out nov 1st that is all
whopee the carnivals in town. as i was driving home from work this morning @1am ish, i noticed that once again the carnival was setting up for another dun filled two weeks of carneys and crazy people. it is the strangest thing because they come religously aronde the first of the month every other month weird. just thought you guys should know
Sorry that it has been so long since I have written. My site wouldn?t let me post and I can?t get a hold of Harper. I have been busy with school and work. This will probably be the only post until next Sunday because I am training all this week. I have been working about 20-30 hours a week and going to school and doing homework, LOTS AND LOTS OF HOMEWORK. This weekend my roommate got the network adapter for his PS2; he has been playing it a lot it is funny to watch. Also this weekend Sarah and Joanna moved into their house, it was stressful but I think it all worked out ok. Last weekend I saw XXX it was really cool. The effects and stunts where so cool. Vin Diesel is such a bad ass. I also saw Austin Powers 3 again. It was funny again. The way that they were able to spoof themselves was hilarious. Tonight I watched the movie the sweetest thing with Cameron Diaz. It is a pretty funny movie. I am enjoying school a lot. We are finishing up MT and PT this week and then next week we are going to start UT. I hope that everyone is well and good. I am putting most of my CDs on my computer, that is taking a long time but it allows me to use my computer as the ultimate stereo. That is all for now. Sarah I love you a lot and miss u a lot. Joanna and Sarah congratulations on moving into your house. Mom and Dad I love you and miss you. Harper Thx for my ticket. I love you. Bye
my mom and brother came and visited. it was fun harper smells bad, all the time. I started my specialty now. i am learning to be a certified welding inspector. i am watching king of the hill it is very funny. hanks lawn has been dug up by archeologists. hee hee. i have been reading alot of school books today it was not fun the material is cool but the reading is dry. i read the devine secrets of the yaya sisterhood. it was really really good. i enjoyed the story but it was sad when vivis love died in the war.
the vault girls are big meanies and they smell bad…..except for sarah. i love sarah.
