Check

Earlier this week, I had the pleasure of playing Chess with my friend Charlie Randle.  As I’ve mentioned in a previous post (Three Steps Ahead), Charlie has a number of tournament victories under his belt.  Months ago I had asked him if he would be kind enough to instruct me in the finer points of chess.

Since then, I have been practicing a lot and was eager to show my improved skills.  All of my practice has paid off; I was able to beat him in two intense rounds.  In both of the matches, I was able to apply a strong amount of aggression with an equal amount of attention to defense.  Even if I had lost, the one thing I could be proud of was that the mistakes I would have made in past games were nonexistent on this night.
Afterward, Charlie told me of his strong desire to practice chess on his own for the much anticipated rematch.  I know that Charlie is a very competitive person with a impressive wit.  When he sets his mind to something, he invests every ounce of his heart to completing the task.  Armed with this knowledge, I know that I’ll have to train twice as hard to claim victory next time we play.

I'm a Poet and I Didn't Even Know It

It’s challenging work to write a new topic every week.  And there are times when what I have isn’t my best.  Rather than pull my hair out for a post that frankly sucks, I thought this week I would give poetry a try.  Sometime in the near future, I would love to practice my writing skills with poetry.


To My Editor
by Len Duran


To be honest, I’m not optimistic in what I’ve created
I feel this week I should concede 
The red of editing looks like a murder
"A little water clears of us this deed"


My deadline is tomorrow and we tried our best
Yet the post is far from done 
I have a reputation to maintain with my “mass” of  fans 
An imaginary army of none

Coming Soon to a Bookstore Near You

Sometime after high school, I began to toy with the idea of becoming a published author.  As recently as a year ago, my wish to become a novelist stopped being a possibility, and became a journey.  When I shared the news to those closest to me about this desire, I was met with an abundance of support.


Since then, I wish I could report that I have a mountain of pages ready to be edited and shipped out to a publisher.  Such is not the case I’m afraid.  In theory, I have seven or so complex and interlocking stories already completed.  In truth, they are only finished works in my head, and what I really have is a stack of notes.


My books (and there will be many) haven’t left the planning stage.  I have tried to start said novels with the help of various “How-to” writing books.  However all that I have discovered is that half of their material teaches steps I’ve spent the past year+ focusing on.


I feel I’m ready to take the next step; starting this week I’m going to begin writing my books.  I want to conquer my fear of not being able to succeed in this goal.  I’m going to focus on putting to paper my stories regardless of my current skills.  As I progress in my writing abilities, I will use those talents to fine-tune my work until I’m ready to publish my soon-to-be-international-best selling-novels.


That’s a “when”, not an “if”...

Stalemate

Back in December, 2011(“Three Steps Ahead”),  I wrote about my desire to improve my skills in the game of chess and eventually become skilled enough to compete in a tournament .  At the time, I optimistically predicted that I would have the necessary ability to enter a tournament after two to three months of training.  Four months later, I am not where I want to be in my mastery of chess and thus, I am not ready to compete.


In the time since the aforementioned post, I have not practiced enough to comfortably enter a tournament.  It was only as recently as a month ago that I started a strict routine of at least one chess game a day.  Around the same time, I began to actively study chess strategies by watching instructional videos via YouTube or reading articles on chess.com.


Presently, I find myself at an awkward stage in my path to complete this goal.  For example, in my daily chess games with online players, I find that I’m good enough to destroy the amateurs.   However, my embarrassingly frequent defeats against more advanced players demonstrate just how much work I have cut out for myself.


On a positive note, I feel that I have the aggression, wit, and drive to surpass this plateau in my chess skills.  Who knows, maybe in another two or three months I will be able to compete (and mean it this time).

Panem et Circenses

So, I kind of want to get something out in the open right now: I’m vegan.
Allow me to share the story of how and why I became vegan in the same monotonous (almost scripted at this point) explanation that I use frequently.


I became a vegan when I was nineteen years old.  Around that age I started practicing Shao-Lin Kung Fu and continued to train for about four years.  During my training, I befriend a number of black belts, whom I discovered were vegan.  I saw this as an opportunity to change my eating habits, which were horrendous at that point in my life. 


To put it simply, being vegan means that I can’t eat anything that is or comes from an animal.  Yes, this includes chicken, cheese, and fish!  You would be amazed how many people ask about those three foods.  No, I’m not doing this for animal rights reasons and no, it doesn’t offend me when people eat meat (this is another common question I’m asked).  I hate what they do to process meat, not the consumption of it.


Was there any positive change with becoming a vegan?  Well, at the time I started, I weighed 215-220 lbs; I now weigh 180-185 lbs.  However, I only partially attribute being vegan to the gradual change in my weight, though I feel excercise played the bigger part.  Now, if you are thinking about becoming vegan to lose weight... don’t.  As I’ve said, my diet was only a part of why my weight loss.  Moreover, it’s important to do a lot of homework into what your body needs to stay healthy.  It can be easy to overlook things like your protein intake or essential vitamins, which can result in serious harm to your body.  


There, I can now direct the curious to this post.  Why?  Because I’m that kind of jerk, and I want more readers.


My editor, Arcelia, has been posting delicious vegan recipes and pictures on her Facebook page (as well as mine).  This reminded me of my goal to acquire a vegan cookbook and try every recipe therein.  I have already placed the order for one (Vegan cookbook) and I am excited to try some new dishes.


If this gets me fat again I’m blaming Arcelia... 

100 of the Greatest Works of Literature

First, let me start by apologizing for not having anything posted last Friday (*insert excuse for being overwhelmingly busy here*). As I become more skilled with my writing and time management, so too will I succeed in posting consistently.
Having said that...

As I mentioned on March 9th, 2012 (“A Hitch in the Road”), I began the process of creating a list of the 100 greatest novels of all time. I would love to go into great detail about how I formulated such a list, but frankly, that would be boring. So let’s keep it simple and by the numbers, shall we?
Step 1: I started by collecting three different credible lists of the 100 greatest novels ever written; I tried to focus on lists that were not limited to the 20th century.
The sources for such were:The Guardian, NPR, and Time
Step 2: If two or all of the sources agreed on a title, that book would become a permanent addition to my list.
Step 3: After adding the the corresponding titles, I then finalized the list with my personal choices.

A note on this project: some popular titles were left out of the completed list as I had already read them. Furthermore, I’ve changed the name of the list to “100 of the Greatest Works of Literature”. The list in question can be found above, next to my 180 list. I would like my readers to be able to keep track of the books that I’ve read. Also, I happily welcome any discussion over any of the books that were mentioned.

A Hitch in the Road

As you may know, one of my goals is to read 100 of the greatest novels ever written. The criteria I decided on for such a list had to meet the following: 1. It had to be published from a reputable source. 2. The list had to not be limited to the 20^th century. At first I thought I found a suitable choice for the goal, however I found the intended list severely lacking. Their were books that I believed were well-written or popular enough to have earned a place for my goal, yet were not mentioned. I have come to believe that I am going about this goal the wrong way. To correct this, I intend to spend time this week crafting a list of my own. I intend to combine a few different sources together to hopefully create a credible and entertaining list. I look forward to sharing the results.

Why the Play Didn't Work Out

In this post I will be withholding the names of the theater group and it's participants I worked briefly with. What ever negativity is expressed here is strictly my personal experience. This should in no way deter anyone from viewing any of their performances, if you are familiar to the group in question.
                                                            …

One evening in early January of this year, I received a phone call from an acquaintance. The call regarded the opportunity to try out for the small role of Joe Scales in a local production of “Cheaper by the Dozen”. The moment I was presented with this, I immediately and enthusiastically accepted. Driven by my strong desire to complete a goal on my 180 list, I didn't realize what I had blindly agreed to...

Eyes bigger than my stomach.

My time with the group started on the wrong foot.  This was due to bad driving directions, and as a result, I was 30 minutes late. Once I had arrived, I was handed the role of Joe Scales without question.  I felt that this was not due to my acting abilities, rather it was simply because I was male and they had no one else who wanted the role. Without ever hearing me speak or even knowing what I looked like, the character was mine.  I admit that I was not happy with the role, and like all actors, I wanted a bigger part. However, I had promised myself when constructing my 180 list that I would accept any chance I had to act on stage again.
Around the time rehearsals began, a number of other conflicts began to arise. One such issue was scheduling conflicts with my job. The director expected us to rearrange our schedules around his play. This is difficult for someone like myself who works in retail as I could only offer two days a week of my free time (maybe). Moreover, any changes I made in my shifts at work negatively impacted my team. I was asking them to change their lives around in order to accommodate my dream of completing a goal that they had no stake in. It would be safe to say that I was demanding the same of my roommate as well. I have no vehicle of my own, thus I needed to borrow his truck for every rehearsal. This was yet another person inconvenienced by the pursuit of a goal of mine.
As for the theater group itself, I can't really complain much about them. They are a very talented lot, and I felt dwarfed by their performances which far surpassed my own. Though I did feel very alone when meeting with them as no one made any effort to befriend me. But to be fair, I did keep to myself as I normally do.
Despite all the difficulties I had working with this group, I was determined to complete this goal. While present during rehearsals, I made no protest to any direction given to me and put a great amount of effort into the role.
Unfortunately, my job would put the completion of this goal on hold.
Last week I was written up at work; this is my final notice before termination. Whether this was fair or not, one thing was for certain, my job is on the line. As I don't have anything to fall back on, nor a great amount in savings, my only option is to outperform the expectations of my management. This will be difficult to do when I have to continuously ask for special treatment regarding my hours. Also, because my store isn't doing so well, it would be wise for me not to add my name to the chopping block of “necessary cutbacks”.
This whole experience has left a very bitter taste in my mouth. This acting opportunity made me miserable, and demanded too much of me. Nevertheless, I wanted to see it through to the end very badly. It was my intention to fight on and graciously exit from this group and bid farewell to its participants for good. But now, all I have to show for my efforts is time wasted.  By talking to very close friends of mine, I have come to realize that not every goal I complete is going to be easy.  In fact, some goals might be disheartening and test me. The one positive thing I can take from this is that I now know what to expect. From here on out, I can search for ideal acting opportunities when the time is right.

The Hunger Lames

As I have mentioned in my most recent post, on Sunday 12th, 2012, I completed my first goal. The goal in question was to fast for 24 hours. As an added challenge, I decided not to consume any water from sunrise to sunset. I would love nothing more than to share a story of deep philosophical wisdom gained from completing this goal.  However, the day was rather uneventful. I began to feel the uncomfortable feeling of hunger around late afternoon. From there, a little willpower helped me outlast the day (though I admit, I was kind of a baby about it). Some interesting observances I made regarding my physical well-being were: a difficult time concentrating, irritability, and faint shaking in my limbs.  Also, from time to time I would find myself standing in the kitchen, staring at food, unable to recall how I got there. I found this to be both humorous and interesting.  I believe I can attribute this to my diet, which has conditioned me to eat every 2 to 3 hours.

From completing this goal, I learned a simple yet valuable lesson: food is awesome!
“Duh” right?  But allow me to add some insight to this wisdom.  I chose to neglect food, a luxury that a ridiculously large portion of the world does not have. Even at the worst financially restricting times in my life, I've had something to eat. In fact, at the time this is being written, I can walk to my kitchen and complete that damn nutrition pyramid we studied as a children.  Over 900 million people in the world are not so lucky. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Starvation).

I am thankful that I am fortunate enough and able to within my means.  This goal will serve as inspiration to become more involved with local food charities. With a little more research, I hope to find such groups and spread their cause to those eager to help.

Hitting A Wall

On Sunday 12^th, 2012, I completed my first goal and I wanted to be able to share this experience, but I failed. During the time I set aside to write about the goal, I was struck by one of the worst writer's blocks I've ever had. My normal rituals of obtaining creativity proved fruitful for a variety of other projects, non of which contribute to this blog.

I want to become more open about sharing my ideas and feelings on this blog, and in time I will. I also want to utilize one of my best talents; effectively communicating the strong emotions I have in ways that will help people empathize with me.

I want to move people and become successful at it. I want to change my stars.

This is not the life I imagined or dreamed. Not even close. But it will be.

Starving Artist

My close friend Mindi Wise has witnessed many transitions I've made in my life. She has observed hobbies and passions of mine come and go.  During one of those changes, she watched as I turned from a man certain in his spiritual beliefs, to a man who questions and, at times, rejects the ideas of his faith.

One day, Mindi and I were eating dinner together. Before beginning to eat, I prayed over my meal. This is a ritual I have been practicing for years and still continue to complete and believe in to this day. She asked me why I still prayed before meals even though I had stopped actively practicing my faith. I told her that my act of praying before meals had nothing to do with religion. Rather, it is a practice of taking a moment to be thankful that I have the means to eat something on that day.

To this day, I like to reflect before meals that I am fortunate enough to have food, a home, a job I hate, and other little things that we take for granted. There were times, when I was very young, that I was not so lucky.
                                                            …

As a goal, I will be fasting for 24 hours on Sunday, February 12th. The inspiration for this came from my editor, Arcelia.  A few weeks ago, she spoke with me about this as a way of reflecting on what true hunger feels like.  I am also interested in having this experience because I believe this goal is in line with the aforementioned reasons why I pray before meals.

This will be the first goal I will have accomplished for 180 Degrees of 314.00 and I am excited to share the results!

Overlooked

January 18th, 2011. Around 1630 hours.

I had parked my roommate's truck at the school where the auditions took place. The previous day, the director of the play had asked me to meet with him in person to acquire my copy of the script. From the day I accepted the part, to the time of this meeting, I had contemplated abandoning the role. I had weighed the pros and cons of staying on-board and they looked less than desirable. When I spoke with him, I had discussed a number of issues that would conflict with my participation. To be honest, I think I was trying to talk my way out of the performance. To say that the director silenced or blew off my concerns would be stating it politely. There was also the pressure of burdening the director, and the other members of the play, with having to fill my part on short notice.  Reluctantly, I accepted my responsibility to these strangers and to the part that no one wanted. Disheartened, I began the lengthy trip back home.

Earlier that day.

Towards the end of my work day, I had been called into the office of my friend and manager, Bob Wietrzykowski (don't bother trying to pronounce it). We had discussed my annual review and he had succeed at making my rebellious comments sound productive on paper. Afterward, we spoke in length about our writing endeavors. He told me about a screenplay he once developed and I laughed hysterically at the genius of his humor. He complimented my ability to pick up on the subtle nature of the comedic scenes in his work. I confided in him that I envied his ability to deliver significant information through subtle hints and minor, yet important, details.

Bob then shared a useful tool that would assist me in my own work. He told me, that the next time I find myself driving on a familiar road, to pull over, exit the vehicle, and stare at the ground. From this exercise, I will learn how to develop my writing style through the use of subtle hints and relevant details.

Later. Driving from meeting the director.

I drove down a long stretch of road just a few miles north of Luke Air Force Base. I was weighed down by thoughts of things I felt angry with. It had occurred to me then that this road would be my way home for the remainder of my time with the play. On a whim, I pulled over next to a large vegetated field. I got out the truck and began to stare at the ground as my friend Bob had suggested. To anyone else this act would seem strange, but I immediately saw what Bob had meant about seeing things differently. My eyes focused, as if for the first time, with distinct clarity. I observed the different shapes and sizes of the rocks on the ground; one of the rocks looked like a crystal, there was a small rubber tube and a cigarette butt. I picked up the trail of a truck and footprints. My mind raced with the sight of a new world that I was seeing for the first time. I could have spent all day taking in every detail around me that I would have otherwise carelessly driven past. I felt moved by this new sight. Breaking my attention away from this new world, I felt the heaviness of worry and hate dissipate. I calmly got back into the vehicle and drove home in a peaceful, and silent bliss.

QQ and A

After some minor setbacks due to busy schedules, the promised audio interview is here!

A very special thanks to my editor Arcelia Rael (RC) for putting this together.

Enjoy! :D

Untitled from Civyl Lovey on Vimeo.

Short and Sweet

I regret to announce that the interview I promised to post needs some work and will have to be delayed for a week (I hope).

On a more positive note: I auditioned for the play “Cheaper by the Dozen” last night and I'm certain I will be cast for the role of Joe Scales. This is going to be a challenge for me because: First, he's very energetic and animated (which I am not); and second, it's been close to seven years since the last time I acted. Despite this, I am excited for the opportunity to accomplish a goal!

Hit the Ground Running

Though the blog is still relatively new, I promised myself from the start that I would have new content for my readers on a scheduled week day.  Posting a new piece every Friday was, and still is, my intended posting day for current and future followers.  Of course, I have unfortunately missed a week or two. To be fair, the holidays are a busy time for all of us. With a full-time job, spending time with loved ones, and a variety of other events, I didn't have much time for writing. At some point in the near future, I would like to offer my perspective of how challenging, yet rewarding, running a blog has been.

So what's new, you may ask?

This year for Christmas, a close friend gifted me a piano keyboard; it came as a delightful surprise.  For some time now, I have wanted to learn how to play a musical instrument. When looking over the list of musical instruments I want to master, the piano keyboard seemed to be the best option.  A reason for that being: I don't have the resources to acquire the other instruments mentioned on my 180 list, nor can I obtain the instructional material.  In the past, I have voiced my interest in immersing myself in a musical activity to a number of friends.  I am aware that from an outside perspective one more goal seems rather time consuming. I admit that I place too many endeavors on my plate from time to time, but the only complaint you'll hear from me is that there is never enough time in the day.

In other news, I had the pleasure of recently participating in my first large-scale racing event.  The event was called “Midnight Madness 3 Mile” and was held late in the evening on New Year’s Eve at the at the Rose Mofford Sports Complex in Phoenix, AZ.  I was invited by my two best friends Christopher and Arcelia Rael (Arcelia you may or may not know as my editor for this blog and is instrumental in helping my writing seem intelligible). I am proud to say that with little practice running recently, I was able to finish all three miles without pause (though my legs did pay for it for a couple of days afterward). On the whole, I greatly enjoyed it and could easily see marathons becoming an addicting new venture.  You can bet you’ll be hearing about other runs in the future, as a few goals of mine challenges me to running marathons.

A final update I'm excited to announce is that this weekend,  I will be interviewed by my editor, Arcelia Rael.  I will be posting the audio recording of the interview on January 13th, 2012. This will give me the opportunity to give “180 Degrees of 314.00” a stronger voice, clearer insight, and a preview of things to come.

Stay tuned folks; I have some great stuff on the horizon!