Handwritten Correspondence

I'm not sure if it's quaintness or intimacy that draws me (and many, many of my friends and others my age) to the idea of writing letters on actual paper and sending them through (snicker, snicker) the mail. But this is a habit I've tried to take up a few times, and each of those times I've enjoyed it immensely. But likewise, it's a habit that has proven difficult to start and, when started, difficult to maintain.

The first part of this problem is motivation and inspiration on my part. I tend to get writer's block that becomes exasperated further by the fact that I have writer's block. In other words, when I can't think of something to write, the threshold for an idea to actually commit to paper becomes impossibly high. This often cripples me to the point of no letters!

Another problem is procrastination. Hand-writing a letter takes time, and it's really easy to tell myself I don't have 30-45 minutes when, really, I have way more time than that. Those 30-45 minutes are spent idly, at best.

The other problem is other people. The problem is always other people.

So, inspired by Conner's recent goal, I propose--for about the fifth time in my life--to start a written correspondence with you. Now that I have identified the traps I fall into (and, as Conner said, now that I have put them into the public eye and will fail publicly if I fail at all), I hope to find it easier to turn this into a habit.

I will offer to start the correspondence, but you are welcome to start as well. Please provide me with your information in an electronic mail to artallen at gmail dot com. Thank you.

This Is Adulthood

I am feeling quite grown up this morning for the following reasons:

• I got out of bed (not just woke up and turned over again and went back to sleep) fully an hour and a twenty minutes before I needed to
• I have washed a few dishes... in the morning!
  
• I am listening to Styx
• I will be getting into work early to set up for a presentation instead of keeping everyone waiting for my fumbling with a projector
• I am on my second cup of stimulant and I haven't even left for work
• I have resisted the urge to play Sim City 4 instead of get to work early