I am in my fifth week of working out more consistently than I have in years, perhaps even a decade. In 1992, I lost nearly 40 pounds as I worked on the final stages of my first novel. The writing was some of the best I’ve ever done, before and since, and I stayed in that “writer’s zone” months after the book was finished.

In 1999, I became a vegan and exercised regularly. The combination of those two things helped me drop 80 pounds and cut my cholesterol levels in half. It was the last time I heard my doctor tell me I was in better shape than most my age.

I was also writing like crazy. I was leading workshops in writing all around the region, publishing pieces on writing in newsletters and other writing publications, I had my own monthly column in a family magazine, and I was journaling 2-3 times a day.

When I stopped my vegan ways and dust gathered on the treadmill, my writing slowed down. My daybook entries were filled with frustration, and most of my writing beyond my daybook was weak and sporadic, at best.

But now, in just these first five weeks of resuming a disciplined diet and exercise regimen, my writing is taking off again. My daybook entries are entirely about the art and craft of writing, and my mind is clear in solving many of the problems I faced with my stories, even just weeks ago.

In a nutshell, I’m seeing a direct correlation between establishing an exercise regimen and becoming a better, more disciplined writer.

I did a quick search online to see if there were any established studies confirming my belief, but no matter how I typed in the search words and phrases, I came up with absolutely nothing, even searching through ERIC.

The generic cause-effect relationships seem obvious to me: If I lose weight and exercise, then

• my self-esteem will improve dramatically;
• I will manage my time more efficiently;
• I will interact more with others in social circles and communities; and
• I will be less afraid of success (and failure) and will take greater risks to see projects through to completion.

Easily, each of these generic benefits can be applied nicely to writing.

• If my self-esteem improves, I will feel better and more confident about my writing.
• If I manage my time more efficiently, then I will have more time to complete the tasks i begin.
• If I interact more with others, then I will gain more experiences to use in my writing, as well as have opportunities to share my ideas and gain valuable feedback.
• If I take greater risks, I will discover more genuinely who I am as a writer and what I am capable of accomplishing.

So even if there aren’t any studies out there (if you know of any, though, do let me know), I have to believe that my grad school mentor, Philip Gerard, got it right when he told us: Working on a book is like running a marathon. You have to practice hard every day at it and be in the best shape of your life. If you don’t, you’ll never get the damn thing finished.

I think you are right, Philip. Thanks for the lasting advice. I can now visualize that published book just on the other side of that FINISH banner at the end of the race. . . .

Today is only the fifth day of summer break, and I cannot remember another summer when I’ve been out of the starting gate so ahead of where I thought I would be, less than a week following the last day of school. You see, I took the time in May, believe it or not, to devise a summer writing schedule.

Here was the plan.

Beginning on Saturday, June 20, and every day following, I would place my writing above all else.

Now, that sounds pretty selfish, especially when you have three kids you are raising, and your wife does not get the benefit of having nine consecutive weeks off. Still, I was unwilling to compromise.

So how did I make it work?

I did not change the morning alarm on my Blackberry, and I made writing the first thing I did every day. That means, by 5 a.m., exactly 13 minutes after my alarm (“Early Riser”) brings me out of my sleep, the coffee is already brewing, and I am downstairs, in my writing sanctuary (never mind the washer/dryer, old refrigerator, and cat litter box), selecting the morning’s playlist (based on what I am writing), and putting pen to paper or fingers to keyboard. This gives me, at the very least, a solid 2-hour block in which to work on my writing.

That’s been my schedule since June 20, and It has paid off enormously.

Today, though, was a bonus payday. Here’s why. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m back.

There are two more half-days left until summer break. Both are final examination days, and there’s that rare mix of excitement and stress in the air, as the anticipation of summer looms behind the worry of grades and test scores.

This was my big day to get much of my paperwork taken care of, as exams were for periods 1 and 2–both planning periods for me. I did get a lot accomplished, and I was fortunate to have Brent and Lenore stay after school and help me clean the room. (The pizza was quite good, too). They are wonderful individuals, and I am grateful to know them.

In the middle of cleaning, though, I received an email from the registrar’s office at Towson University, where I teach both undergraduate (fall and spring) and graduate (summer) courses. One of my students felt as if my style was too laid back for her, and so she dropped the course. as a result, my enrollment dipped below the minimum allowed, and the course was cancelled.

Correction: my course. I designed and wrote the course in the past 6 months, pitched it to the folks at Towson, and it was ready to fly. I’m sad about the loss of summer income, but I’m more saddened by the fact that I won’t see this class become fully realized with student-writers.

I know there’s always next summer, and the option does exist in the future to teach this as an online course, but the sting is strong today. It makes me feel quite like the failure in many ways.

I know doors will open up, and I will use this time to work on my writing more fully. I will invest more time into Lines as well, but there’s still an emptiness that exists right now.

I will cope. It will all be fine. But still . . . .

More later, probably. I’m signing out now. It’s 2:37 p.m.

Just trying to get everything just exactly perfect to wrap up the school year.

Expect to see me back–daily–June 19.

Extremely tired from a long day, but no shortage of excitement. . . .

It was good to see so many recent grads returning today to our advanced comp time slot (pd. 4A), talking about senior week and the trouble many found while in Ocean City. But I was most grateful for the help Amanda provided in helping me understand Photoshop a little more and introducing me to DeviantART. There’s a reason why this is so significant to me in the long run.

Now that Bellatrix is here, I’m able to resume my love for photography with seemingly no boundaries. In the past, though, I have been somewhat of a purist when it comes to my photos. I try to do all of my artistry through the lens when composing the shot. In a lot of ways, I feel like that gives me an advantage with my photography. Even in its rawest form, my photography (I would like to believe) is unique in that I capture life from my perspective, as I see it, through the lens. That is something I will never stop believing in nor stop practicing.

However, there is another artistic side of me that, in a totally different vein, loves to take existing, concrete artwork and add a unique and personal, abstract quality to it. This is entirely separate from the purist photography that I do. I do not digitally enhance my original photos to create something uniquely for my viewer that detracts from the subject. I believe those photo creations should stand on their own merit.

I enjoy working with the existing raw files to see if I can create another piece of artwork that is for an entirely different purpose, as well as audience. Until now, though, I haven’t had the tools or the knowledge to do that.

Granted, I barely have either of those things now, but Amanda has introduced me to both technique and audience to encourage me to finally realize that abstract/random artist within me, using my original photography. And, I feel like there is a genuine purpose for me doing this.

Like with my words in my writing, I want to evoke a strong response from my audience with my photo manipulations, and I want them to serve a strong purpose in communicating my beliefs about certain causes or issues. I struggled all afternoon (in the best of all ways, though) with how to use this new knowledge/audience to convey a need for hope and support for Lines of Love. How can I create a new piece of artwork that hits teens and their families in a strong, meaningful way and let them know the importance and power in love? How can I let them know that they are never alone, even in the seemingly darkest of moments? How can I let them know that, despite everything they believe in their hearts, hope and love await them, always, on the other side of those moments?

DeviantART is a website shared by artists who publish their creative works, whether they be illustrations, photos, digital, or a combination of several art forms. It’s free to join (with an option to upgrade to a higher-tiered membership with many more benefits), and it is quite addicting. Even if you are going to publish very little of your own work, the inspiration you gather from looking at and studying other artists’ works is priceless. As I scrolled through hundreds of original pieces (just scratching the surface of what has been published on this site), I kept asking myself the same question over and over: How did they do that? The artistic blends of various mediums is what strikes me the most, and learning the very beginning stages of Photoshop today introduces me to a world where I, as well, can communicate a little more clearly how I see the world.

A spinoff of this valuable session with Amanda was buying Dreamweaver CS3: The Missing Manual at Barnes and Noble. I was the very lucky recipient of some gift cards from my recent grads, and I used them wisely (I believe) on this bible for website development. Dreamweaver is part of the Adobe Creative Suite that includes InDesign (which I am very familiar with) and Photoshop and Illustrator; understanding how the four of these work together is, creatively, one of the most powerful tools anybody can have in the world of digital art and publication. Now that I have Bellatrix, it’s a little easier to understand why I am so excited for all of my creative loves–writing, photography, and art–to come together through the digital magic of Adobe’s Creative Suite package.

The websites you’ll see sooner than some of the digital creations, but I’m jumping in now, and I am excited to see what I emerge with in a few weeks. . . .

The night comes to a close as I have just returned from Starbucks to pick up some coffee for tomorrow morning. Yet, even something so seemingly benign as a trip through their drive-thru was not without adventure. When I pulled into the lot, I was rushed by police officers who were chasing–on foot–somebody that they had been looking for all evening. As the suspect ran past my Jeep, across York Road and into the darkness along Burke Avenue, followed by two officers who were sprinting after him, I felt both a rush and a fear that was awakening. How close we are to danger, at all times, yet in the guise of greater moments of tranquility and peace. We are never immune from the sudden rush of danger and the possibility of accident. We must never take this moment for granted. In those fleeting moments of the chase, I know that, a second or two earlier, and I could have been the target for a carjacking (which would not have been the first time).

I drove home from Starbucks with the radio off and the windows open, suddenly expecting to hear the sudden rush of footsteps behind me. I was alert, ready, prepared to defend. Prepared to act. Ready to respond.

Isn’t that the way we should pursue our lives with who we are? Allow our muses the chance to run, create, and be prepared for it in a moment’s notice?

I hope you all had a wonderful day….Storms on tap for tomorrow. . . . . :)

Another picture-heavy entry. I’ve daybooked a lot this weekend, and because I can’t easily put the pics in my daybook, I’m happy to include more of them here. :)

Madelyn had her third (and ultimately final) game in LaxSplash this morning at Hydes Field. Of all the LaxSplash fields, it looks like Hydes was hit the hardest from the rain. The fields were in fair shape, but the rest of the park was a muddy mess. No worries, though; it’s what makes it so memorable!

The Loch Raven Ladies lost this game after getting a good start. Their season may be over, but they played like real pros all weekend. We could not be more proud of them.

This particular game was extremely aggressive, and there’s some question about the ages of some of the girls on the Perry Hall team. This league does not require birth certificates for entry, but it sure would erase a lot of doubt from the parents and spectators if such a requirement were in place. Perhaps next year?

After the game, we had a couple of hours to cool down before heading to Full Moon Farms for Madelyn’s lesson, where she started cantering for the first time. :)

Finally, I end with this shot. This was my first attempt at Macro photography. I shot this while waiting for Madelyn to tack up for her lesson. Now, I know I have a lot to learn, as this leaf was still on the tree, the wind was blowing, and I wasn’t shooting with a tripod. Still, I am amazed at what this camera is able to do with all of those things going against me. I can’t wait to spend the time on an actual macro shoot with the tripod and in better circumstances.

Hope you all enjoyed your weekend!

A day devoted to Lacrosse….

Spent most of the day traveling to various lacrosse fields for LaxSplash. This is Madelyn’s first year participating in this tournament, and it has been a lot of fun for both the parents and for the girls. Game one was extremely exciting, and we beat a tough team from Ocean City by a score of 8-7. The skies had cleared enough for the game to begin on time, but the onslaught of rain from these past 5 days left the fields and surrounding areas extremely muddy. No worries…It was great to get the game in!

Here are a few shots of Game One. Madelyn is no. 4. . . .

This was the first score of the game…

Madelyn’s defender was a wee bit bigger than her!

As Madelyn commented on this photo, that’s why they call it lacrosse!

I got your back!

I love the intensity in her eyes in this photo…

The second game was played at the Timonium State Fairgrounds, which served as the main location for the event. The fields were in pretty bad shape, and they were much longer than the fields the girls have been playing on all year. Still, they put forth a solid effort in a close loss to Carroll Manor.

Another score for Loch Raven!

We followed the games with great snoballs from SnoAsis in Timonium before heading home to grill hot dogs and hamburgers for a late dinner…Wonderful day!

And the rains continue. . . .

But unlike most of my friends, this does not bother me. I have so many wonderful memories in the rain, and every time we have a stretch like this, I am afforded the chance to go a little deeper into each of them.

When I was young, my family owned a cabin in the woods in River Hills, PA. One of the best parts about going up there every weekend was sitting out on the front porch and listening to the storms roll in along the Susquehanna. My mom would tape the sounds of the storm, the echoing thunder across the water and sifted through the trees that surrounded our property, the rain-stick trickles of raindrops making their way down through the deciduous leaves and landing on the blanket of pine needles, rotting logs, and wildflowers. Because she was taping, we learned the precious gift of silence, enjoying the sounds without joining them. Long after we sold the cabin, Mom still listened to those tapes. I think they took her back to a place of peace as well.

And of course, rains like these remind me of hiking along the Appalachian Trail in the rain. There is a magic there, a sort of union between man and nature, when he lets go of the inconveniences of getting wet. (I still don’t know why we resist this as we do. Earlier this week, I was picking up some carry out food from Red Robin and there was a gentle rain. No downpour, no thunder and lightning. A family of 4 (the kids were well in their teens) were huddled under a small umbrella as they waited for the fifth in the party to bring the car to the curb. When the car pulled up, they ran the 7 feet and screamed the entire time as they rushed to get inside the car. The commotion was so comical that I stopped my walk back to my Jeep, stood there in the rain, and watched incredulously at this circus-like scene. After they drove off, I resumed my walk to my Jeep, and by the time I got in and turned the ignition, I had nothing more than a few drops to wipe from my glasses. Why such hype?)

Anyway, I saw Chelsea today in Jenn’s office. They were sipping tea and relaxing, and Chelsea and I shared a moment of how much we love the rain and cherish its brief visits (some may say this is a little more than a brief visit, and I don’t disagree; however, I don’t argue over its long stay, either). It’s always great to see and talk to her. Such a wonderful spirit. . . .

On another note, I am proud of one of my student/photographer/artists who placed 1st, 2nd, and received an honorable mention for her photography of downtown Ellicott City. She was recognized at a huge reception this evening, and I could not be more happy for her. Sami did the rare, rare thing and gave as much time to the business side of her photography as she did her art, and as a result, she was recognized for her talents and hard work. Way to go, Sami. You are well on your way to wonderful things. . . .

Onward to the weekend. Madelyn’s LaxSplash opener was cancelled today because of the rain. Two games on Saturday, and another on Sunday. . . .

I’ll see you on another field, brotha…. :)

I want to introduce you to somebody special who has served in such a meaningful way to the Lines of Love Foundation. (If you are on Facebook, you can find our group here; our website will be up next weekend.)

Lenore is a rising senior in Howard County and is responsible for the daily upkeep of the Lines of Love Facebook group page. She has worked hard at organizing our last two events, and she continues to be one of the Foundation’s most committed team members. I know Lenore’s going to be with the Lines team for many years to come, and I appreciate all of her selfless work that she’s already put into the Foundation. Thanks, Lenore, for making such a difference.

Kelsey, another rising senior, took this picture of Lenore today as we were working on the last issue of the school newspaper. Kelsey, our newsroom’s Managing Editor, was quite the profile pic photographer today. Here’s the pic she took of me:

It was a great day at school, especially in my classroom. Annie (yet another rising senior) has been working hard at getting our “spirit lights” back up around the room. I’ll see what kind of pictures I can take tomorrow (will require a change in lenses, though, which I don’t know if I’m ready to do yet!). It’s just a great place to be these days. I love teaching in that room!

Side note here. Did you hear that Harford County Public Schools are changing their lunch procedures for their students? They are moving to the debit card system, which my kids have right now in Baltimore County. What makes me upset, though, is that parents will now be able to track online exactly what their children buy each day. The county is praising this as a sure-fire way to make sure our children are making healthy choices, and it helps the school system track what they are selling on a daily basis.

I say it’s a sure-fire way to take away yet another freedom our children have. At this rate, they’ll have cameras strapped to their foreheads and microchips embedded into their ears, and we, as parents, will be critical of every step they take (every move they make, every breath they take…).

“What are you doing going down that hallway? That’s not the way to science! I know what you are going to do. You’re going to meet that boy again, aren’t you? You get your butt turned around RIGHT NOW or there’s no dessert for a MONTH!”

You think I’m exaggerating? Try this one:

“I looked at what you bought today at school. Two ice creams, a bag of chips, and a chocolate milk. What are you trying to do? Kill yourself with all that junk? Is this how my money is being thrown away? That’s it. Since you decided to pork it up at school on all that junk food, you’ll be eating nothing but bananas and my homemade stuffed green peppers for a WEEK!”

Now, what you can’t get from the printout is that Sandy’s mom likes to make two PBJs and not one, and so Sandy shared her sandwich with your daughter, which she ate with the chips and milk. The two ice creams? Jen’s hamster died this morning, and your daughter decided to buy her an ice cream to cheer her up.

Stuffed green peppers for a week. Ugh.

We’re stripping our kids’ freedom slowly but steadily. I know it’s just a lunch, and I know the counter argument has everything to do with eating healthy. But my goodness, what opportunities do our kids have left to be kids? We hover over them too much already out of necessity to protect them, and we must draw the line and reconsider the Big Brother approach when it comes to the non-essentials.

Let them be. Let them eat cake and ice cream when they can. Let them enjoy the here and now, and breathe a little without the world waiting to pounce on them. If we don’t give them that chance now, we’re going to regret the rebellions and the confusion that will come as they get older.

Finally, a day captured by Bellatrix :)

Little text today, as the pictures dominate. I want to first share a picture that I actually took yesterday. This was the very first picture taken with Bella. It is of my son, and he was in his usual form:

This was taken fresh out of the box, no fresh charge on the battery, no settings changed, nothing. Later, I learned that this was shot on the default ISO, so the shutter speed was super slow (I think this was a handheld 1/10th second, but with the lens vibration reduction feature, it allows you to get away with getting a handheld shot under 1/60th sec). The focus isn’t great, but Braeden’s expression makes up for it!

The second round of photos was shot this morning at our Class of 2013 orientation, where the eighth graders from our feeder schools visited for a few hours to learn about all of the opportunities in their freshmen year. We had performances by several groups; I captured two pictures of our senior dance troup and our choir:

This first picture was taken at ISO 1600 to avoid using the flash. One of the benefits of having a lens with a 2.8 aperture is it lets in a lot of natural light, even in low-light situations. This was cropped out of a much larger picture with dancers on the right. Still a little out of focus from a low shutter speed, but the VR makes it a satisfactory shot.

I wish you could have seen how low-light the conditions were. Yet, this camera does an amazing job of working with existing light; combined with the ISO 1600 and the VR feature, I was able to get this shot from about 60 feet away.

Later in the day, after school, I met with a fellow writer at our local haunt, the Bean Hollow. Steve allowed me to take a few pictures of him working on his next novel. I like this one the best, I think, though I wish I would have recomposed the shot so that he didn’t have a coffee roaster coming out of his head…I cropped the photo to make it less noticeable, but still…. I was trying to avoid some blue plastic bins that behind his right shoulder. Must always be mindful of even the most natural of backgrounds when composing through the lens!

Later in the night, we proudly attended Holland’s induction ceremony into the National Junior Honor Society. It’s such a sacred ritual, in my mind, and I was a little frustrated that so many things weren’t polished. The microphone was never checked, and as a result there were a half-dozen speakers, including students, who had to project to the entire audience. The lighting was awful, there was no air conditioning running before the ceremony (although they turned something on in the beginning of the ceremony which made it even more challenging to hear the speakers), and one of the candles would not light because of a short wick. I know these are all little things, but for a ceremony so important (the principal even noted that it was one of the highlights of the year to hold such an honorable event), I expected that they would have taken care of these small issues that can really take away from an otherwise celebratory night.

Anyway, I took this picture of Holland as she was lighting her candle. I was maybe 75-90 feet away, working in extremely low light, but I refused to use the flash. Once again, I traded sharp focus for natural lighting. Anything artificial would have compromised the evening’s sacred beauty….

So proud of Holland…She has worked so hard all year. I am not a big fan of the “This Looks Good To Colleges” attitude when it comes to such accolades; however, I am glad that there are organizations like NJHS that recognize the efforts Holland and other students put into their studies and her community service every year.

Hope you enjoyed your day!