greggillis

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  • Out of the Past: Movies 1980 (The Year of Disappointment)

    CharlieBrownMemory’s funny, it’s about as trustworthy as Lucy Van Pelt with a football, but mine’s pretty good. But where I can remember events with great detail, it’s all unstuck in time – ask me if it was five or fifteen years ago, I’m at a loss.  (Same with names, I remember your wife, dog and kids but your name is veiled in mystery.) (more…)

  • 90 Day Transition: Week 6 Report

    90_Day_Transition(Read the overview for the basics of this 90 day push.)

    Trying Times!

    Well, my nephew now has 100 of my dollars, which I’m not amused by (well, a little amused, pride coming before a fall and all that). If my results this coming week prove this to be an anomaly, I’ll view this two-week failure on my weight loss goal as an unnecessary evil, simply serving as proof that it’s a goal I need.

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  • Journal – 4/18/15: Daredevil, Indecision and Spring

    MeSmallIt’s been awhile since I did a straight “diary” entry, which is weird because that’s what this journal is primarily for. An online ego observation tool, to keep me honest – and just to note things that I’m likely to space out. (more…)

  • Out of the Past: Movies 1984

    “Wash day tomorrow? Nothing clean, right?”

    PaxtonThis line, spoken to a naked Arnold Schwarzenegger by a punk kid about to lose his heart (literally), became more of a catch phrase with my gym friends than the more popular “I’ll be back”. Back in the day, movies and television would penetrate more deeply into more segments of the society, and it was fun.  It was a good bet that after a weekend, somebody you knew had seen whatever the “big” movie was, and you could riff on it. Today’s full-on 24/7 all-inputs media saturation isn’t “bad” – but it’s paradoxically isolating – I can’t remember the last great movie convo I had (I’m reduced to listening to podcasts where other’s get to have the fun!) (more…)

  • 90 Day Transition: Week 5 Report

    90_Day_Transition(Read the overview for the basics of this 90 day push.)

    Failure!

    What’s the price of failure? Well, in this case it’s fifty bucks (paid to my most excellent nephew Ellory), which doesn’t make me happy. But I can’t be too upset, I saw this fail coming a mile off – it was my birthday week and I indulged in all the high-calorie treats generously thrown in my path. That said, I’ll double down this coming week to get back on track.

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  • Teachable: Start at the Start

    01_TeachableWhat’s the first, best lesson?

    I was writing about dualistic thinking, and it hit me that if I want to keep talking about these topics I really need to get a framework together – organizing concepts in order of “dependency”. In other words, if you want to change things in your life where do you start, what concepts do you need to understand before you tackle another?

    But everybody is so different in their development, how they’ve come to be a person who perceives the world (some have trauma, some have affluence, some have curious minds, some have task-oriented minds, some have physical challenges, some have emotional challenges, some grinding poverty, deep fear, profound confidence) – all of which can be a benefit or curse depending on how the individual views them. (more…)

  • Journal – 4/8/15: Leisure vs. Lethargy

    LondonCallingLost in the Supermarket

    Just listened to Christina Pazsitzky’s great “That’s Deep Bro” podcast, this weeks episode “Leisure Time – Where the Hell Did it Go?” not only dealt with a topic I’m passionate about, but also included the Clash’s “Lost in the Supermarket” as a framing device. (more…)

  • 90 Day Transition: Week 4 Report

    90_Day_Transition(Read the overview for the basics of this 90 day push.)

    Time for Changeup

    There’s no good reason I keep meeting these goals, but I’ll take a bad win over a good loss any day. That doesn’t mean I’m satisfied with my performance, and I need to keep my head clear and adjust what isn’t working to not only succeed, but get that elated feeling of leverage that’s eluding me.

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  • Journal – 4/3/15: Easter, Getting Paid, Boardwalk and Sad Dreams

    PinkBunny“Writing, to me, is simply thinking through my fingers.” – Isaac Asimov

    Couldn’t have said it better Isaac, I think I’m going to use that as the mission statement for this Journal. About ten years ago I feared (in a real way) that my imagination was “broken” for lack of a better term, so I set out to prove it wasn’t by undertaking significant project in the form of novels.  (more…)

  • Journal – 4/1/15: Body Snatchers

    Groucho“I refuse to join any club that would have me as a member.” – Groucho Marx.

    I encourage people to avoid surrounding themselves with energy vampires (negative people)  or environments, it’ll eat your soul! And now I find myself in a “physician heal thyself” situation – without knowing it I invited a vampire into my house, and need to do an exorcism (yeah, I know,  you don’t exorcise vampires but this feels vaguely demonic). (more…)