I am signed up for Reverb's "Reflect and Manifest" project for December. They provide a writing prompt every day during the month for bloggers to write about.
December 1 - Moment Pick one moment during which you felt most alive this year. Describe it in vivid detail (texture, smells, voices, noises, colors).
The last sliver of golden sun hung over the mountains, and we watched it disappear. The transition from light to dark seemed more sudden here than in the ordered routine of our normal lives, and it was almost as dramatic as someone turning out the lights.
We were sprawled on a slab of solid granite, assembled on loose boulders for chairs and our legs were stretched out in front of us. I passed out Dominican cigarillos that I had bought at the Duty Free store of some forgotten airport, and we lit them with matches. The flask went around a few times. Lies were told, stories were embellished and perfected, and we soaked in the dirt and the fatigue and the peace and the calm.
The stars began appearing, more and more by the minute, a thousand thousand jewels sparkling and shining, so clear and perfect. It was painfully and perfectly beautiful. I felt calm and alert and completely comfortable. High in the eastern Sierras, surrounded by close friends and family, I felt alive.
* Unfortunately failed at my goal of breaking a 5 minute mile and getting enough fights to turn open class in boxing. Next year.
Social Life
I made some good friends through kickball and the boxing gym, but need to be better about making myself available for social outlets. Tended to do my own thing a lot more than is probably healthy. Not sure if this is out of laziness or just a lack of a need for much social interaction. Unfortunately have let quite a few friendships from Southern California slip quite a bit. No real excuse for that when just a phone call here and there would do.
Reading
Finally knocked out some of the books that had been sitting on my shelf for a while, and read a bunch of others. A complete list here.
Writing
I am pretty happy with how my writing has come along. I think I have "found my voice" as they say, and it seems to depend entirely on putting myself down. I'll roll with it. Wrote two 20-30 page abortions that were supposed to end up as novels, which was a fail. Maybe 2010 will be the year I can write a story that I can still stomach after the 10,000 word mark.
General Know-How & Competency
Picked up bits and pieces of knowledge and experience on all the outdoor activities
Learned that pretending to pick up a rock will sometimes dissuade a dog from attacking
Learned that you cant brake and accelerate at the same time on a motor-cycle
Financial
Paid off all credit card debt, and only owe a few thousand left on my student loans.
Created emergency fund of a few months...not enough
Started using Amex for a lot more expenses in order to take advantage of rewards.
The year is over (almost). My reading habits moved back towards fiction after a long phase of non-fiction and educational material. Reading a wider variety of material has helped my writing, thinking and just overall being.
Travel
"Marco Polo Didnt Go There," Rolf Potts
"In a Sun-Burned Country," Bill Bryson
"You Shall Know Our Velocity," Dave Eggers
"The Lost Continent," Bill Bryson
"The Life & Times of the Thunderbolt Kid," Bill Bryson
"A Fighters Heart," Sam Sheridan
"Off the Rails in Phnom Penh: Into the Dark Heart of Guns, Girls, and Ganja" Amit Gilboa
"Children of Jihad," Jared Cohen
Boxing
"Strong Boys and Buttercups," William Plummer
"This Bloody Mary is the Last Thing I Own," Jonathon Rendell
"Charley Burley & the Black Murderers Row," Harry Otto
"The View From Ringside," Thomas Hauser
"The Black Lights," Thomas Hauser
"I Cant Believe It, but It's True," Thomas Hauser
"The Greatest Sport of All," Thomas Hauser
"Cut Time: An Education at the Fights," Carlo Rotella
General Know-How (Finance, Staying Alive, Inspirational, On Writing)
"US Army Survival Manual"
"Your Money or Your Life," Joe Domingo
"Blink," Malcom Gladwell
"The Four Hour Work Week," Tim Ferris
"This is the Year You Write Your Novel," Walter Mosley
"What I Talk About When I Talk About Running," Haruki Murukami
