Back To Basics

I thought this time, I would try things a little differently with my blog. Instead of embracing technology and typing things up, I've decided to do things the old fashioned way... with pen and paper.

God, my handwriting is awful!

You see, back in 'my day', that's how we did things in school. I first learned creative writing with a pen and several pieces of paper. You didn't type up a single thing. There were editing marks all over your first draft, in a different coloured ink. Your final draft was still handwritten, but had to be in your best handwriting.

Things were much simpler then... everything in life was new, hence it amused and inspired me to write. You didn't think about political correctness or worry about offending anyone because all your thoughts were... well... as corny as it sounds, pure and innocent.

Enough with the flashbacks... back to the present.

It's not that there's nothing happening around me that inspires me to write anymore... there's lots of things. Lies, political maneuvering, backstabbing, anger... and that's just during my drive to work. By the time I picked up my pen just now, I've experienced more events than a soap opera. Problem is, there's nothing positive that really stood out.

Adult life seems to get more complicated with every waking moment. You deal with problems, only taking the rare five minute break to come up for air. Little amusing events are scarce.

Have you noticed that if you hear a funny joke at work, you get excited when you get home and tell the joke to your loved ones? You start off with "I heard this joke today..." Do you realise that the highlight of your entire day was ONE joke? This is such a contract to when you were a kid... you come home from school and won't stop talking for two hours about what you did that day...

No wonder kids say that adults are boring...

There are several methods out there that's supposed to keep you from going insane. The first being "work hard, play hard"... In other words, work like mad during office hours (and then some), then party like mad afterwards. Do you know how much 'partying' I have to do to totally erase the events of the day from my mind? (That was meant to be a rhetorical question, though in the past, I have tried to quantify it... the closest answer I ever got was "WTF!?")

Second theory is to do something you love. There's a problem with that... let's use an example of a tennis player named 'Andre'. Obviously, Andre loves to play tennis. But then, to remain on form, he has to train non stop. I don't know about you, but if HAD to do something I love for eight hours a day, six days a week, I would go nuts. After all this training, Andre has to cope with the pressures of winning his matches... not to mention bad calls by the line judge.

So here's my theory... work and play at the same time. Keep the workplace alive. Joke around while you work. LAUGH!! Some people do not agree with this method, citing low productivity as a result. But how much productivity could you achieve if your staff is busing bitching about the work? Make the workplace as fun and enjoyable as school was (I'm referring to the early primary years... not the exam driven rest of the school life).

Life doesn't have to be complicated or frustrating or every bad adjective you can think of. When face with troubles of adult life, go back to basics - be a kid.