Inside the Mind of a Nathan

Sometimes, I fear I might develop a dependency on brain-draining/blogging before I write properly. I don't really think it's the case, but warmups are ideal when possible. I don't know what it is. I think I have a normal metabolism, a normal body temperature. At Starbucks, however, I always feel refrigerated. Sometimes, I don't even listen to music; I just use my headphones as earmuffs to insulate just a little bit more warmth.

Well, shoot. I've been reading "On Writing" by Stephen King, and he insists you gotta read and write like all the time. Here's the jankiest part: I love it! I mean, I've grown a bit lazy, a bit rusty these past 30 years. I'm not perfectly primed or well-oiled or what have you, but I embrace it. I embrace the assignment of reading and writing more.

I recently watched Kate & Leopold (though I had seen it before). In it, Leopold tells a young boy the exciting tale of piracy and romance — as presented in Pirates of Penzance . (Reportedly, he tells it wrong, but that's unimportant.) He delivers his story with inflection, motion, and charm.

Excuse me, old man at Starbucks. If you are making "six figures," you should be able to afford an office where you can have these boisterously loud conference calls. Starbucks should have sections like smoking or non-smoking: quiet or could-be-shot-in-the-dark-by-a-deaf-chimpanzee .

I'm trying to write about Starmada, but my brain is a mite distracted. This won't be very long or interesting. (She might have said something like that.) However, it serves the purpose. I'm sure I told you about Brain Drain — at least once some while ago. No, I am not referring to Brain Drain pills in the movie We're Back .

Have you ever met that kind of person that JUST scares you? You know they are safe and kind and mean well and pay their taxes and say please and thank you and smile and would buy you coffee if you asked, but they just scare you?

Well, snap! My next project is designing a creative writing class. I was gonna wing it together from scratch, but, now that I'm thinking about it, I should probably check out some of the writing books I've collected through the years. I suppose I can still format the sessions, set up the general tasks, or whatever.

Can I tell you something? I was recently called a trash panda, and it warmed my heart. I don't know if you've seen Guardians of the Galaxy 2 (I really recommend you do), but Peter Quill calls Rocket (the Raccoon) a trash panda when Rocket gets pissed about being called a raccoon. I've probably already told you this, but that pair of movies is deep in my heart. I love the mismatched family coming together in the first movie and sticking together in the second despite — or perhaps because of — their jarring differences.

Well, snap. I got myself distracted, so I have to work out of it again. I wasn't even trying not to focus, which is probably why I got foiled. I needed to try to focus. Whatever. Here I am, rambling again to ramble out the distraction. It's a bit of a waste of time, but sometimes you need to reset, restart, reload, or whatever.

Well, my friends, I might be teaching an origami class tomorrow. Set me back one year in time, and I'm just toying with the idea of tutoring on my own. In the here and now, I'm determined to tutor academic subjects, teach small classes, sell paintings, publish a book, and more. The future looks like a gritty pile of colorful adventures.

Well, hot crossed buns and mashed potatoes! The world is craaaaaazy! I might get my paintings hung up in a restaurant! Holy moly! What?! WHAT?! Holy moly. I don't know how to process that. It's crazy. In other news, I missed writing. I miss writing stories. I even wrote one recently, but I still miss it. I miss creating the worlds. I have so many worlds packed away in my heart, and I try so hard to talk about them to relieve the pressure inside.

I took a brief stroll through some woods today to pray and to think. I am 100% sure an elf could shoot me in the dark.

Do you ever devolve into un-productivity? It's an especially weird zone when you've been productive for most of the day. I did 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6: six or more useful things! (I don't remember them all.) I have one script for a short video. I've been meaning to write a second, but the drain has befallen me. There are a bunch of other tasks that are long-winded ongoing responsibilities, so I can't push them forward just now. So then what? I have reloaded Facebook too many times.

Well, snap! I might get to teach an origami class! I met with a lady at a place called the "Homegrown Facility," and we chatted about setting up some classes. It's always strange to imagine you'll get to do the things you actually like to do. I've had some great times sitting with random friends and acquaintances and working through making little paper thingies. We shall see!

There are so many weird things in our world these days. One of them is all the digital machinery that watches us. I agree that this is problematic in general, but, seriously folks, what do you have to hide? I imagine an NSA officer watching me:

Journaling! Writing! Scribbling! Wonderful things! It is always a delight to hear about someone who has recently stepped into making a habit of writing. It's not some mysterious magic that solves all your problems, but it is a wonderful way to sort your thoughts. Time and time again, I hear people say how helpful it was to write. I always recommend it.