Sea change

Here we come to one of those moments in life.

I’ve decided to stop writing. As with any decision this big, a lot of factors were involved. However, the main impetus for the change was a desire to quit living inside my own head all the time. If nothing else, I need this for my therapy to progress.

And of course it’s difficult if not impossible to write without staying inside one’s head. There are whole worlds in there that may still need to come out. But there’s also a whole world outside that needs to come in, and for now that has to be my priority.

Having made such a sweeping declaration, I should at least recognize that writing isn’t like a “real” job with a steady paycheck and a retirement plan that can be taken advantage of. It’s a fluid activity that can be set down and taken up with a minimum of fuss.

I should also note that many years ago Stephen King said he was going to stop writing, which obviously he hasn’t. So I might not either. As of this point in time – less than a week after my last attempt to make any progress on a writing project – it’s too early to tell.

For the time being, however, I have no immediate need for a blog about my writing efforts. As this is too good a blog to let simply go to waste, I’ve decided to repurpose it to record whatever other creative endeavors I pursue in place of composing fiction.

In the spirit of pursuing activities that will force me to get out of my chair, walk away from my desk, leave my house and go out into the world, I’ve decided to pursue a drone pilot’s license.

Almost exactly two years ago I went nuts on Amazon Prime Day and bought a bunch of stuff I most likely didn’t really need. Among these frivolous acquisitions was a Yuneek Typhoon H drone. Ever since its arrival, it has sat unused in its box. The awful truth is that I’ve been afraid of it. I got a really great price on it, which means it would be expensive – perhaps prohibitively so – to replace if it got damaged. Thus I’ve been highly reluctant to try flying it.

Which of course is completely illogical. Why even own something you never get to use because you’re afraid it will break and become unusable? That made it a natural starting point for my newfound dedication to take better advantage of life’s possibilities.

So today I applied to take the FAA’s unmanned aircraft pilot’s exam.

The illustration at the top of this post is from the drone’s user manual.