It's almost seven as I write this, and looks as though the sun is just starting to show herself from what I can see through the slanted blinds in front of my bookshelf. The shelf was given to me by a friend, and works wonderfully for me — I was able to put away the stacks of books and oddments I had lying about my room, and neatly house my stereo and turntable on it. Altogether I've been finding that improving the area in which you spend the most time really helps with productivity and keeping your mind in a healthy place. What would be referred to as your "environmental wellness," as I learnt from listening to Zach and Hanna's wellness series on their podcast. (Which is something I highly recommend you check out.) I've found that for me, ridding my surroundings of anything that gives me access to the Internet or some form of video entertainment (e.g., YouTube) is a really good way to get me to spend time doing the things I enjoy most — such as reading, writing, and listening to music, which are things I hardly do at all if I have a television in my room. And even though I don't want to get rid of those things (the digital entertainment devices) when I have them around, after distancing myself from them for a bit, I really don't find myself missing them. Even though I can't listen to the music from The Elder Scrolls without wanting to play the games, I know that I always get bored with them very quickly anyway, and my surface desires are usually very deceitful. So lately I have been doing much more reading, in my Bible as well as in fictional works, and I can tell that my mind has been in a much better place because of it. Even though most recently I've fallen back into spending a lot of time online, I'm making a deliberate effort to limit that further. (Thankfully my smartphone will be gone very soon.)
My coffee mug is now sitting empty just to the right of my hand.
One thing I've begun lately is a new attempt at a novel, in my own hand. I went to the bookstore to pick up a fresh little volume that I could write fiction in (and only fiction), and I've started to jot down the beginnings of the novel that has lain dismembered and incomplete in my mind and scattered through various digital documents and paper notebooks for years. This time I intend to keep it in ink, and don't plan on sharing it online at all. (Unless I finish it someday and it gets published.) While it is definitely a more difficult and daunting task to write only by pen, I'm glad I'm doing it because it forces me to slow down (a lot) and think before putting anything to paper. So far I only have a few pages of a prologue, but I do like what's there, and think it's probably the best I've done as far as novels (or attempts at such) are concerned. While I would like to be able to say that I write every day, the truth is that I am simply not in a place creatively or mentally to do that — I wouldn't like what I wrote, it wouldn't be very good — and I honestly have very little idea of where the story is going anyhow. So I'm taking it slow. And that is okay.
Here's a quick little note for those who don't know: I've started a "lessons" page here on the site, which you can access through the navigation menu at the top of the screen. I've benefitted hugely as a photographer from reading various articles online over the years, and I thought I'd start sharing some of the things I've learnt. I'll be covering technical and scientific aspects of the craft, as well as the more artistic side of photography. I've only a few articles up so far, but I am trying to make time to post more, and there are other lessons in the works (at least mentally). So head over there if you're interested in learning a few things, and if you've any suggestions on specific topics you would like to see posted, please do let me know.
In other news, I've decided to take up leathercraft. Leather is something I've been a huge fan of for some years now, and as there are at least two things made of it that I've been eyeing online lately, I just decided I should make them myself. That way I'll save money (which is good) and learn a new skill (which is better). The two items in question are a strap for my camera (I've been on the hunt for the perfect strap for years), and a small bag for housing one lens and some batteries, which is all I really want on me when I'm out shooting. The strap is very simple to make, and I'm keeping the design of the bag really basic as well, so I don't think either will pose too much difficulty. Leathercraft is essentially cutting and sewing fabric, and so long as you don't integrate a whole lot of hardware into the designs it seems to be pretty simple, albeit precise work. It's also much less messy than woodworking, which makes me very excited to start. To begin with I'll be making a workbench for myself that will stand in my room, and double as a desk for reading and such, and then I'll be needing to acquire some tools, and buy a hide to start working on. When I say tools I mean some good scissors, awls and needles of various sizes, punches, an edger, a rubber mallet, those sorts of things. And I should probably get a carpenter's pencil as well… But all in good time. I still don't have a consistent job or paycheck, and although by the wondrous provision of God I am able to continue paying my bills, it is the Christmas season after all, and I wouldn't feel right stocking up on all these things before getting presents for my family. And I also need to get a bottle of tung oil and some more sandpaper because a friend of mine wants me to make him a ring, and I want to do a better job on his than I did on the last few. So that takes financial priority over the leather stuff as well.
Lately I've been shooting JPEG with Elaine (my camera), because that way I can tweak and use the in-camera film simulations from Fuji, which don't apply when shooting RAW. I like doing this because it challenges me to get the images right straight out of camera, so when I shoot I need to compose and expose more carefully, since I can't adjust a whole lot later on. It's almost like shooting film in that aspect. I do love the look of those simulations, and it's hard to get the photos to look quite the same when processing the RAW files in Lightroom. (Even if you're a hardcore RAW shooter, you might want to challenge yourself by switching to JPEG once in a while. It can be a lot of fun.)
When I left church two days ago the snow had already covered the ground in a decent blanket, and continued to fall heavily till that evening. That was magical in itself, but it also meant that I was able to go out shoveling yesterday morning and make thirty dollars, some of which I hope to spend at breakfast, if I can find anyone to go with. Otherwise I'll head downstairs and make myself some toast with jam or peanut butter.
Half past eight o'clock now.
wishing you a lovely week in the Lord,
— Joel