Well I've had an eventful few days. Usually when I approach a busy project month it gets very hectic and confused. Sometimes it takes a few day for things to straighten out into an understandable system.
However during the past month I’ve been working on some of my personal challenges for the year, as part of a list of projects over on the NaNoWriMo boards call ‘big fun scary challenges’, and though it’s been a bit stressful planning for my convention while setting up this charity event, the personal challenges I’ve worked on this month have help me look at approaching the end of some projects and then starting new ones.
Better that then stressing out over the set up of upcoming events. Sometimes the anticipation of a thing is worse than the thing itself, as they say.
So this past weekend I managed to complete a rough draft of some maps for fantasy or gaming needs, they are hand painted in black on parchment like paper, and I will compile a few good ones into setting material for sale through e-books I think. I will also offer commissions to those interested.
Also I finished and prepared the first of four messages in a bottle for the project of the same name:
http://groups.google.com/group/mess-n-bot
And that message will be sent on its way Friday afternoon from the Connecticut convention center where I will be at the annual multi-genre convention Connecticon.
But I’ve also created a few hand crafted pendants to wear at the convention to sort of prime people for the future release of a line of hand crafted jewelry I will be starting. I’ll keep you all posted on this as time goes by.
I’ve build a mock up of a pinhole camera design that when tested will show me whether I need to make a few adjustments before making a good quality metal fabrication of the same design. I’ve still got to work out the film winding but it would work now for single shot usage.
I’m fairly excited by my progress on my Big Fun Scary Challenge list so far. All they asked was that we try one personal challenge during the year, I being the person I am promptly decided my one challenge would be to complete 24 personal challenges.
I’ve made some progress into the list, having completed near half of it since January. The remaining half, are going to be the harder ones to complete; consisting mainly of editing, rewriting and submission of writing from my past, as well as learning new things. The learning can be fun but again, being the person I am I’ve not chosen nice easy things. Sumerian, computer languages and complex mathematics are not light subjects to self teach.
Why make so much extra work for myself? Because I’ve discovered in myself some potential I’d never known I had before. I am beginning to realize some of my potential and am anxious to see just how many of those ‘one day’ dreams I can manifest in my lifetime. It’s empowering, and it’s comforting to know that somewhere along the way I stopped being a passenger on a tour of the world and became an explorer.
So join me for some of my explorations, start some of your own, and as always…
Take care of yourselves,
Roving Jack
PS. I’ll be trying to make my next post sometime on Friday night from the hotel, and each night after that.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
The Time approaches.
Well here I am again true to my word. For the time being my posts are on the Wednesday-Saturday schedule. Starting on august first though, I will be updating more regularly; for those who wish to watch my progress in my writing challenge. I cannot guarantee a post every day but you can expect more frequent posts then I have yet done.
Once the writing challenge is over I may return to the Wednesday-Saturday schedule depending on interest in the blog. So let me hear from people what they think.
Seeing as how this new project of writing 31 short stories in 31 days for charity is going to be a big part of my schedule for a month, it will also be a big part of this blog.
I’ve some worry about how to proceed with the project, having no home net access it’s likely to be done at least in part on public access computers and I may have to resort to notebooks and pens, in order to save on gas costs. The latter concern, over gas, being because the nearest net access that I know of is a fifteen minute drive from my apartment.
I’ve considered getting a laptop when I get some money soon, it would allow me to do more from a wider variety of places. My finances are rather restricted at this time however. I the mean time I’m keeping my eyes open for a typewriter at the local thrift shops. The typed text from that would be easier to transfer to a computer by scanning it with a text recognition program.
There is even something sort of romantic about the idea of writing stories with a typewriter, or pen and paper in distant places where I’m not connected to a computer, electricity or the internet. I imagine it’s like taking a restaurant chef out of the kitchen and to a fire pit or stone hearth to create a meal.
It puts us in touch with the roots of the craft, and leaves us with that raw feeling, no electric hum, or whirring of blenders and such. Just paper and pen, or fire and raw ingredients.
But at the same time I wonder if I’ll be disappointing anyone who would like to see some verification of the progress being made.
Ultimately my choices may be limited by what is available to me, and so I have to accept what comes.
In my next post which should go up by Wednesday I’ll be discuss in more detail the types of writing I’ll be doing and the end goals for them.
Until then, Take care of yourselves.
Roving Jack
Once the writing challenge is over I may return to the Wednesday-Saturday schedule depending on interest in the blog. So let me hear from people what they think.
Seeing as how this new project of writing 31 short stories in 31 days for charity is going to be a big part of my schedule for a month, it will also be a big part of this blog.
I’ve some worry about how to proceed with the project, having no home net access it’s likely to be done at least in part on public access computers and I may have to resort to notebooks and pens, in order to save on gas costs. The latter concern, over gas, being because the nearest net access that I know of is a fifteen minute drive from my apartment.
I’ve considered getting a laptop when I get some money soon, it would allow me to do more from a wider variety of places. My finances are rather restricted at this time however. I the mean time I’m keeping my eyes open for a typewriter at the local thrift shops. The typed text from that would be easier to transfer to a computer by scanning it with a text recognition program.
There is even something sort of romantic about the idea of writing stories with a typewriter, or pen and paper in distant places where I’m not connected to a computer, electricity or the internet. I imagine it’s like taking a restaurant chef out of the kitchen and to a fire pit or stone hearth to create a meal.
It puts us in touch with the roots of the craft, and leaves us with that raw feeling, no electric hum, or whirring of blenders and such. Just paper and pen, or fire and raw ingredients.
But at the same time I wonder if I’ll be disappointing anyone who would like to see some verification of the progress being made.
Ultimately my choices may be limited by what is available to me, and so I have to accept what comes.
In my next post which should go up by Wednesday I’ll be discuss in more detail the types of writing I’ll be doing and the end goals for them.
Until then, Take care of yourselves.
Roving Jack
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Why I chose the charity I chose
Forgive me for being breif and less the clean in my spelling and such. I've a bit of a disability with that sort of thing and seeing as how my time today is very limited here (some appointments to keep, and errands to run, and having to rely on public access computers) I hope the fact of my desire to be true to my word about posting makes up for a little less care in the editing.
That out of the way, I felt the need to elaborate on why I chose to support Child and family services of new hampshire, as my charity for my write-a-thon. The simple answer is gratitude and respect.
But that in itself requires a bit of elaboration. So the longer answer is this:
I am someone who has directly benefitted from their services. I was born in a log cabin in the back woods of newhampshire, with no running water and no electricity. The cabin was said to be in horrible condition... by my genetic parents themselves, due to neglect and poor hygene.
Infedelity became an issue in the relationship, as did substance abuse and personal abuse. Two of my older sisters were taken from them by seperate states youth and family departments around that time and I myself faced several illnesses related to my environment and neglect in my first year.
Some good citizen called in a concern and I soon found myself in the foster care system thanks to Child and family services of new hampshire. To this day my genetic father hates them and blames them for the loss of his children and his serveing jail time for 'first offense' (really first time getting caught) drug use. I see it differantly. He got a second chance.
Because of the intervention of Child and family services of new hampshire, he got himself clean and to my knowledge considers drug use an abomination and a dangerous evil to be avoided. He got the chance to avoid a downward spiral and ultimately what I can surmise was likely to be an early death in a gutter. He had chances again later to start and raise families, and has struggled with problems in that area as well. He now raises one of my youngest sisters by himself, and if he is credible she is better off with her father and happier there two.
Meanwhile my genetic mother never fully got her life back on track. I can't share much about her as I still have much to learn and that is only complicated by her early death last year.
As for myself when the time came a new home and family was found for me. I was placed with a half sister into a local couples care and truely more then that. There has not been a day that we have ever been treated or even felt like we weren't fully part of this family from that day to now. We were always raised with the knowledge that we were adopted and that, that was something special and wonderful.
I won't pretend that there was no arguing, this wasn't some peaceful utopian dream of family life. But it was a gift like no other. For all the disagreements I had with both my adoptive parents , here on refered to simply as Ma and Dad, they were responsable intelligent supportive people from day one. Under their guidance (chaffing as it may have seemed to a teenager at times) I gained a strong foundation that I depend on for my understanding of myself and for how one should carry oneself in life.
Now don't get me wrong here, I'm still a bit outside the box for my family. I don't really tend to be, do or think the way that much of the family does, but the foundation they lay down in my character allows that. There is a deep respect for each individual and personal knowledge of the world and oneself at the core of how we were raised.
I have yet to see that same depth of character and respect from my genetic parents and don't expect to. It seems that they have settled for a differant way of life that while it has a great many things about it to respect, would have been far more restrictive and not allowed me to become the person I am today.
So I owe my family for the chances I have been given that otherwise would have been denied me, but I also have respect and gratitude that I owe to Child and family services of new hampshire, for making us the family we are.
The Thought that giving of my time and especially the creative aspect that was allowed to grow thanks in part to them, that I might allow these good people to continue their work, and that other children in need of the chances I was able to get may see their lives helped...
It's the least I could do.
So If you like me think that that is a good cause, please visit http://www.firstgiving.com/rovingjack
and show your support. Thank you and take care of yourselfs.
Roving Jack
Ps. next post should be up by saturday at the latest.
That out of the way, I felt the need to elaborate on why I chose to support Child and family services of new hampshire, as my charity for my write-a-thon. The simple answer is gratitude and respect.
But that in itself requires a bit of elaboration. So the longer answer is this:
I am someone who has directly benefitted from their services. I was born in a log cabin in the back woods of newhampshire, with no running water and no electricity. The cabin was said to be in horrible condition... by my genetic parents themselves, due to neglect and poor hygene.
Infedelity became an issue in the relationship, as did substance abuse and personal abuse. Two of my older sisters were taken from them by seperate states youth and family departments around that time and I myself faced several illnesses related to my environment and neglect in my first year.
Some good citizen called in a concern and I soon found myself in the foster care system thanks to Child and family services of new hampshire. To this day my genetic father hates them and blames them for the loss of his children and his serveing jail time for 'first offense' (really first time getting caught) drug use. I see it differantly. He got a second chance.
Because of the intervention of Child and family services of new hampshire, he got himself clean and to my knowledge considers drug use an abomination and a dangerous evil to be avoided. He got the chance to avoid a downward spiral and ultimately what I can surmise was likely to be an early death in a gutter. He had chances again later to start and raise families, and has struggled with problems in that area as well. He now raises one of my youngest sisters by himself, and if he is credible she is better off with her father and happier there two.
Meanwhile my genetic mother never fully got her life back on track. I can't share much about her as I still have much to learn and that is only complicated by her early death last year.
As for myself when the time came a new home and family was found for me. I was placed with a half sister into a local couples care and truely more then that. There has not been a day that we have ever been treated or even felt like we weren't fully part of this family from that day to now. We were always raised with the knowledge that we were adopted and that, that was something special and wonderful.
I won't pretend that there was no arguing, this wasn't some peaceful utopian dream of family life. But it was a gift like no other. For all the disagreements I had with both my adoptive parents , here on refered to simply as Ma and Dad, they were responsable intelligent supportive people from day one. Under their guidance (chaffing as it may have seemed to a teenager at times) I gained a strong foundation that I depend on for my understanding of myself and for how one should carry oneself in life.
Now don't get me wrong here, I'm still a bit outside the box for my family. I don't really tend to be, do or think the way that much of the family does, but the foundation they lay down in my character allows that. There is a deep respect for each individual and personal knowledge of the world and oneself at the core of how we were raised.
I have yet to see that same depth of character and respect from my genetic parents and don't expect to. It seems that they have settled for a differant way of life that while it has a great many things about it to respect, would have been far more restrictive and not allowed me to become the person I am today.
So I owe my family for the chances I have been given that otherwise would have been denied me, but I also have respect and gratitude that I owe to Child and family services of new hampshire, for making us the family we are.
The Thought that giving of my time and especially the creative aspect that was allowed to grow thanks in part to them, that I might allow these good people to continue their work, and that other children in need of the chances I was able to get may see their lives helped...
It's the least I could do.
So If you like me think that that is a good cause, please visit http://www.firstgiving.com/rovingjack
and show your support. Thank you and take care of yourselfs.
Roving Jack
Ps. next post should be up by saturday at the latest.
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
And so it begins
Greetings and salutations,
I am Roving Jack and this is my first venture into blog-dom. I’m no expert and hopefully you can bear with me as I go through the learning process.
I figure the best way of starting this is to simply show you why I felt the need to start my own blog. And here it is.
http://firstgiving.com/rovingjack
That is the short version. The more detailed version goes something like this:
I’ve always enjoyed creativity and trying new things, ‘…a roving jack of many a trade, many a trade of all trades, and if you wish to know my name they call me jack of all trades…’, and I’ve always in particular been drawn to the arts and crafts.
I try as many as I can comfortably handle while trying to just survive in the rest of my life. But recently I’ve faced some truly hard times in my life and I’ve found that I need to be more true to that love of creating and exploring. So To tidy this intro up more quickly, I’ll just say that the first scary steps I took lead to bolder and more creative impulses. I soon discovered within myself a veritable garden of things I want to do and share with other. I’ve created a minisite and will likely create more as specific crafts and items of my design seek to venture out and be shared with the greater world. I’ve created a charity event to help raise funds for a worthy cause (and in my next post I’ll elaborate as to why I chose that particular charity) from my creative development. Soon I will be opening a store to showcase and offer the fruits of my mind and dreams.
I hope you will join me for part of the journey, and return to see me again soon.
As it stands now I am unsure how frequently I’ll be able to gain access to the public computer labs to post up dates but I feel safe in offering at the least the promise that by Wednesday July 23 2008, there shall be another post up.
Until then, take care of yourselves.
Roving Jack
I am Roving Jack and this is my first venture into blog-dom. I’m no expert and hopefully you can bear with me as I go through the learning process.
I figure the best way of starting this is to simply show you why I felt the need to start my own blog. And here it is.
http://firstgiving.com/rovingjack
That is the short version. The more detailed version goes something like this:
I’ve always enjoyed creativity and trying new things, ‘…a roving jack of many a trade, many a trade of all trades, and if you wish to know my name they call me jack of all trades…’, and I’ve always in particular been drawn to the arts and crafts.
I try as many as I can comfortably handle while trying to just survive in the rest of my life. But recently I’ve faced some truly hard times in my life and I’ve found that I need to be more true to that love of creating and exploring. So To tidy this intro up more quickly, I’ll just say that the first scary steps I took lead to bolder and more creative impulses. I soon discovered within myself a veritable garden of things I want to do and share with other. I’ve created a minisite and will likely create more as specific crafts and items of my design seek to venture out and be shared with the greater world. I’ve created a charity event to help raise funds for a worthy cause (and in my next post I’ll elaborate as to why I chose that particular charity) from my creative development. Soon I will be opening a store to showcase and offer the fruits of my mind and dreams.
I hope you will join me for part of the journey, and return to see me again soon.
As it stands now I am unsure how frequently I’ll be able to gain access to the public computer labs to post up dates but I feel safe in offering at the least the promise that by Wednesday July 23 2008, there shall be another post up.
Until then, take care of yourselves.
Roving Jack
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