Pickle the Day: October 1st - Caution Hole

I had a lot of fun back in June of this year when I did an experiment called "The Write Month". If you are new to this blog or haven't been here in a while, it's ed zachary like it sounds - I devoted a month to writing. I wrote a new post every day here on the blog. Some of them were serious, some were outlandish and some were just flat out wrong. If you missed any of them go to June in "From the Archives" on the main page. I tried to brainstorm 30 days worth of topics ahead of time, but for the most part I just kind of let them come to me. I kept my eyes and ears open for ideas and allowed myself to be inspired by the World around me. I had such a good time with it that I decided to do something for October. But as the days got closer I realized that I couldn't do another Write Month. That was pretty intense and time consuming. Plus why do something that you've already done if you can try something new? That's when the idea for Pic of the Day came to mind. 

This was something that would be really easy and also very entertaining for me to do. I'm surrounded by things in this World. Things that make me laugh, things that make me cry, things that conjure up a memory from my youth, beautiful things in nature, people that help to shape my life and countless other things that catch my eye. This is a visual exercise. I'm challenging myself to take a picture of something every day, share it on the blog and explain why I chose it, how it inspired me, made me laugh or whatever else I could use to describe its' inclusion for that day. My one rule is that the picture needs to be taken on that day or the day before as a way to prevent me from planning out or writing multiple posts in advance. The reason behind that is that I'm trying to keep myself in a position to be open every day to new ideas and if they don't hit me by cosmic chance then I will have to go and seek them out. It will keep life fresh and new every day because in some little way I'm being a part of something bigger than myself and creating something new. Plus I also get to share my experiences with you. So we all win! #victory!

When I was leaving work yesterday I saw this sign that said "Caution Hole" and I immediately started giggling like an immature little boy. Heh heh. Hole. I'm still laughing about it today. I don't know why the word hole makes me laugh (well, I kind of do. It has to do with butthole) but I pray that it always will and that I never lose my juvenile sense of humor. I was having a pretty bad day up until that point and when I saw that sign everything changed. I laughed all the way to my car, rolled down the windows and cackled wildly as I was leaving the work parking lot. On the way home I sang along with the radio in a real obnoxious voice and I made up some songs about Chewbacca complete with a Wookie roar. People next to me at the stop light must have been quickly rolling up their windows and counting the seconds until the light turned green, but I didn't mind. I was locked in my own little world and I had thrown away the key. Welcome to Insane Town, population 3-5 depending on which voices in my head are talking that day. 

Ok, so I'm not really crazy (although some people might say that is debatable) but most of the time I really don't give a shit about what people think about me or how I act. If it is funny, I'm going to laugh. I'm too old to be hiding my emotions from the World and pretending to be someone I'm not. Hole is funny god damn it. So that's today's pickle of the day. I suppose I should probably explain that one. I meant this to be called Pic (as in picture) of the Day but when I said it out loud I said pickle by mistake. And then I laughed when I said pickle. I love pickles. So that is where the title for this month's feature was born. Come back tomorrow for another pickle. I've got a full jar of them just waiting to be shared. 

 - pookon -

www.pookon.com

https://www.facebook.com/MilwaukeeIceman

https://twitter.com/pookondotcom

Like Mario, You Gotta Hit That Block to Grow

It's been a rough couple of weeks for me as a person and for me as an artist. I've already talked in length about my recent health problems (sickness and back pain) on this blog so that should not be news to you now. I've been pretty much laying low trying to recover so that I can lead a normal life again. For the most part I'm pain free but my body isn't 100%. I'd say that I'm running at around 80%, 85% tops. Something still isn't right. While this has given me plenty of downtime, I haven't been able to provide any new material to this blog, Pookon.com. TheDailyBurner.com or TimReck.com. This past month should have been the ideal time to catch up on all of the things I want to do as a writer on my various platforms. I enjoy operating these websites and the different content that each of them allows me to produce. I've got ideas swimming through my head that I need a venue for or else I will go crazy keeping them to myself. I have a need to be creative at all times and if I bottle it up and act "normal" eventually I'll explode. If that happens I might have to be locked up for good with the rest of the crazies. So I try my best to avoid that situation because it wouldn't work out well for anyone involved. I'd rather be dead than locked up in a padded room.

But there was a problem. While my body was incapacitated from living a normal life somehow my mind became locked up as well. I developed a very common condition called "Writer's Block" that prevented me from sharing my ideas with you. They were still there swimming around in my head but something was preventing me from getting them onto the computer or into my journal. To me this hurt more than the physical pain because this destroyed my purpose in life and prevented me from being who I am. When you have nothing to live for and feel like there is nothing that you are doing that contributes to the World you no longer want to be a part of it anymore. There was an easy to this and that was to force writing to try to get over this block but I just couldn't do it. There was a reason I gave up on pursuing a career in Journalism in College and that was because I can't force it. When I do that I come off as generic or fake because my writing style is very unique and is a combination of my head and my heart. If my head and heart aren't in it then you get something that you've read a thousand times. I like to think I provide a unique take on life and that I'm the very definition of individual. That's how I feel at least. I also feel like I'm the only one who actually reads this shit or enjoys the content I provide at my various sites so my belief is that I will only do this stuff as long as I am enjoying it. I've always said that I do this for me and if I get even one person to check it out then that's a bonus. So if I don't feel like doing it for me then I don't do it. End of story. Or is it?

Everyone goes through some hard times in their lives. That's a part of life. It can never be all good. But it never is all bad either. Everything will balance out in the end. I'm a firm believer in that. But sometimes the bad seems like it is never going to end and you get caught up in the whole "when it rains, it pours" mentality and it takes over you life until you push through it by hitting the block head on and growing. I use the Mario example because everyone at this point in their life (people of reading age) should know all about Mario and the struggles that he's gone through over the course of his life. I'm sorry but the Princess is in another castle. You slipped on a well placed banana peel and finished in 2nd place. You lost your Yoshi. Someone chose Toad because he digs faster. You accidentally used the Frog Suit in a non-water level. Luigi got the Helicopter Hat and you didn't. Time ran out. And the worst one of them all - you're all out of lives. Thankfully there is the continue option. Or the reset button. Or the best one of all - Game Genie. What I wouldn't do with unlimited lives and infinite star power. I would fuck a goomba up. Bowser wouldn't even think once about stealing away the love of my life. But this is no video game. This is life. But I can stand to learn a very important lesson from Mario.

Mario doesn't quit. He never gives up when he's small and the monsters are closing in on him. He figures out a way to get to the end of the level or he dies trying. He never turns and runs away. He searches every brick, every underground level and every cloud in the sky for a power-up that can help him achieve his goals. You have to hit that block in order to grow and overcome the adversity facing you. That's what this article was to me. This was me hitting that block and hopefully overcoming my recent writing struggles. This isn't the most poignant and life changing thing I've ever written. Is it good? I think so. But then again I think everything I do is good and contains a small piece of my heart. Writing is art. It's filled with thought, emotions, nonsense and more creativity than you can probably ever understand. But not everyone will understand. Art is very subjective and subject to the viewer's interpretation. I don't know what you got out of this but I do know what I did - I broke the block. That mushroom popped out and is coasting along the ground away from me. Now excuse me while I go chase that mushroom so I can grow.

 - pookon - 

www.pookon.com
https://www.facebook.com/MilwaukeeIceman
https://twitter.com/pookondotcom

The Write Month: June 10 - Back to the Writing Tablet

The whole reason that I started this Write Month is so that I could go back to writing in a journal like I used to do back in college. This was before this blog existed and I had a lot of ideas and feelings that I wanted to record so that I could look back on my life and instantly be transported back to who I was on that specific day. When I started this blog I found an easy way to share my thoughts and ideas with others in a method that was a lot easier and faster than the "old fashioned" way. I can type faster and more legibly than I can write. Most people can. But not too long ago I found those old journals and realized that they had so much character. There's something special about the written word and being able to hold a physical copy of my work in my hand. Reading my thoughts on a computer screen just can't compare to notebook paper. Plus I tend to write more personal things in there because they aren't shared with the world. I don't really have anything to hide and if you are a frequent visitor to this blog or if you follow me on Twitter you would know that I really don't hold back. I like to be open and honest about things because I want you to like me or hate me for who I am and I don't want to bullshit you. I'm too old and too ugly to pretend to be something that I'm not. But there are still some things that belong in a notebook that should never appear online for mass consumption. Why would you want to read about my true feelings anyway?

I started my new journal yesterday (June 9th, 2013) and I intend to write in it whenever I get the inspiration to do so. I'm not going to tell you what I wrote in there yesterday because that is for my eyes only. And maybe God's too. And that peeping Tom who keeps judging my wardrobe. But let's just say that there was some ghost talk about unfinished business, Casper-style. I hope to use my new journal frequently because I have so many thoughts running through my head at any given moment that I think I might go crazy if I don't figure out a way to get them out of there. Thankfully over the years I have created Pookon.com, this blog, TheDailyBurner.com and started 2 Twitter accounts (@Pookondotcom and @RobertTway) so there is never a shortage of venues for me to work my magic. Writing keeps me sane. If I had to keep all my thoughts and feelings cooped up inside my head I'm pretty sure that my head would explode. You ever see that scene in Scanners when that dude's head blew up? It would kind of be like that. I don't want that to happen. Neither would Marv the Janitor at Washington Dulles International Airport. He'll be damned if he's gonna clean up that mess. So for Marv's sake, for your Daughter's sake, I'm just going to keep on writing. Check back daily in June for a new post here on the blog during The Write Month. You never quite know what kind of nonsense I'll put on here to stop my head from exploding.

 - pookon -

www.pookon.com

The Write Month: June 9 - Do the Write Thing

I first came up with the idea of the Write Month when I was camping with my Dad. If you missed that entry simply follow this link to check that out. Basically I needed to go back to my roots as a writer and throw some of my ideas down on the page, or on the computer screen if you will. Even though I'm quite proud of my idea and the content that I have come up with so far, I think that I picked one hell of a week to commit to writing every single day. But before I talk about the challenges of trying to come up with some fresh content on a daily basis let me first give you a recap of my week to make me feel better about how difficult it was for me to post something new every day this week.

Saturday June 1st - I was camping with my Dad near Lake Geneva and I promised myself that I would take a break from my phone, which I spend way too much time using. But when I came up with this idea I had to blog about it because I forgot to buy a notebook at Walmart. My whole idea was to go back to the days that I used to write with a pen on paper and have a daily journal that would be a better representation of my daily life than my blog or website does. That night I had a fire and stayed up until 3am. My Dad stayed up until a little after 1am and we just talked for hours. We haven't done that in years. It was great.

Sunday June 2nd - Woke up at 6am because I couldn't sleep. Started the fire so I had something to do and I stared into it for a few hours which led to this blog post.  After packing up camp around 1pm we went to the Southern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial Cemetery in Union Grove, which is where my Grandpa (Dad's Dad) is buried. He died on May 29, 2012 and when we had the burial the headstone wasn't done yet. I wanted to go back because it has been a year since he died and I wanted to come here and reflect. When I got home I had to mow my Mom's lawn and Eddie bought Chinese food, which led to the post about fortune cookies on Monday. This was a very exhausting weekend but in the same way it was exactly what I needed. I need to get out more and step outside the comfort of my home.

Monday June 3rd - Nothing out of the ordinary happened today but that didn't mean today was an easy going day. Worked 930 - 5 at the day job then went to work at Miller Park from 6-10. It was a very uneventful day and the Milwaukee Brewers lost to the Oakland Athletics 10-2. It was another small turnout at Miller Park as the Brewers continued what has been a very disappointing season. Since my job is directly related to attendance (I'm an order taker on the Club Level. If there aren't any people there, I can't take orders and make money trough tips) I did a lot of standing around. I felt like my time was wasted and could have been better spent doing other things. But at least I got paid I guess.

Tuesday June 4th - I stepped over an anthill this morning and spared the lives of an entire colony of innocent ants. Worked the 930-5 day job again then went to the Brewers game with Cousin Kevin. News broke about Major League Baseball possibly handing out a 100 game suspension to Ryan Braun for his connection to the Miami Biogenesis Clinic which prompted me to state for all those who bear to listen that I don't care because baseball is only a game. It's entertainment. It is not my life. I have so many better things to do then care about millionaires playing a children's game. But that having been said I do still enjoy going to those games and the Brewers won 4-3 on a walkoff hit in the 10th inning. 

Wednesday June 5th - Worked 930-615 at the day job but it was one of those days that I love - when the Brewers play a day game so I have something to do at work that distracts me from how mundane my job really is. Today was the most uneventful day but I certainly welcomed it. After work I went over to my Mom's to do laundry and we hung out. Despite having more time today than I did in the last few I didn't get anything accomplished today. But sometimes you just need a day to rest and recover.

Thursday June 6th - Another typical day in the summer for me. Worked 930-5 at the day job and 6-10 at Miller Park. It was another typical game for the Brewers as they lost to the Phillies by a score of 5-1. The Brewers are the 3rd worst team in the Major Leagues but none of that really mattered to me as I sat outside at work complaining about the weather here in Wisconsin. I don't like to bitch much about things that are out of my control but this is getting ridiculous. How is it only 50 degrees in June? What the hell is going on here? Whatever happened to that Global Warming shit?

Friday June 7th - Worked the day job from 9-5 then Miller Park from 6-10. It would have been another average day (except for my midday rant about a f****** parking spot) but after work I went out to the bars with my friends from Miller Park. I always forget how much I really love that job because the people who I work with are amazing. There's never a dull moment there and plenty of things to laugh about. These people provided me with one of the more epic nights of my life when "nothing could possibly go wrong". It was a great reminder that people make life worth living. Not things, or money or places you can go. It's who you do it with.

Saturday June 8th - Last night I heard Chicago's Saturday in the Park and it conjured up a specific memory of hanging out with Timmy on the 3rd of July on Milwaukee's Lakefront. Today was a day of parties and I would spend this Saturday in the park. I went up to Lomira for a few hours for my friend TJ's wedding party. Back in March I went out to Las Vegas as he got married to Megan and so now they had a party back home for everyone who couldn't make it out there. It was nice to hang out with all my friends because I stay so busy I often forget to stop and do that. Then I went to my cousin Joey's 6th birthday party where I hung out with my family. When you're with the Kurutz's (my Mom's side of the family) there is never a dull moment. I watched the Brewers game with BK3 and they actually won for a change. At the end of the night I had a nice long conversation with my Aunt Susan about getting older, growing up and figuring out who you are as a person. It was a great talk and I certainly feel comfortable talking to her about some real life issues. I'll keep that in mind for the future.

This was a lot of stuff to get through just to prove this one point - it was difficult for me to find the time to write something new every day here on the blog. But I did it. I don't expect you to be impressed or anything and I am in no way bragging about it. A lot of people have busier lives than I do working multiple jobs and taking care of their children or have other time consuming responsibilities. I get it. But I set forth a challenge and for the first week of the month I succeeded. I believe in celebrating even the little things in life because isn't that what makes life special? I'm going to stay positive in a world that seems to be based in negativity so I don't care what any one else says about me or what I do. As long as I am enjoying my life then it is none of your business. Hopefully you are one of my supporters who will continue to encourage me to live life and write about it every day instead of someone who will hate on me for sensationalizing the mundane. But that's what I do with my life. I make the most of it. And if you don't like you can do whatever you want. I've got enough friends and family who care about me and continue to push me to keep doing what I'm doing. And at this time in this moment, what I'm doing is pretty damn good.

 - pookon - 

www.pookon.com

The Write Month: June 3 - To Be Fortune-ate

Yesterday I got a fortune cookie. Eddie bought me some Chinese food because I happened to be over at Mom's for dinner. I had been doing some yard work trying to keep the Mothership looking nice and pristine for the summer. And it looks great thank you very much. I didn't eat my fortune cookie last night because I knew it would make a good topic for today. Since June is Write Every Day Month here on the blog, I knew if I found something to write about I best hold it until I need it. So today I ate my cookie and read this fortune:

If you can shape it in your mind, you will find it in your life.

Now I'm no expert, but isn't that the same as, "If you can dream it, you can do it"? If so, then I get it. I'm all about this idea because when you refuse to accept the possibilities you can achieve then you limit yourself. Each person is capable of so many things if they work hard and never give up on their dreams. I'm sure there are some unreasonable things that I shape in my mind (like a version of Natalie Portman who is madly in love with me) that I will never find in my life but who knows? I'm probably not going to spend the rest of my life with Natalie Portman but I could find a lookalike who I can trick into falling madly in love with me and it would be almost the same. So yeah, it could happen. I just have to do it.

I'm just not a do-er. I'm a try-er. Yoda would fucking hate me. Good thing that Muppet is dead or else he'd probably allow me to turn to the Dark Side so that he could decapitate me with his light saber. And in case you are just figuring it out now, yes - I love Star Wars. But that's not all I love. I also love to write which is why this month should bring about so many new ideas and insight into my life that you probably weren't aware of. Shit I don't even know if I am. I'm constantly exploring the inner parts of my mind and seeing what exists there. It's going to be a wild month so I hope you come along for the ride.

As for my fortune I'm going to keep that in mind. I can shape a lot of ideas in there and I don't think many of them have come to fruition... yet. There's still time and every day is another chance to make things happen. I think of life in the physical sense for the most part but when I also consider the imaginary oasis that sits in my brain maybe all of the things I've been dreaming are already happening. And now my life just got a whole lot more exciting. For the next 27 days I'm going to try and understand how and why. And maybe just begin to realize how incredible this life really is. I'm shaping that in my mind right now. Now I'm off to find it.

-pookon-

www.pookon.com

The Write Month: June 1 - Write Every Day Month

How many times do I reference the fact that I don't write as often as I should? Enough that if I stopped bitching about it and wrote instead I wouldn't have that problem. I am a writer. I have been since I was a little kid. I was always fascinated by stories and I couldn't wait to write some of my own. But I was always reserved because it looks so difficult. I'm not a writer, I would say, those people are brilliant and creative. Little did I know that it doesn't take brilliance and creativity to write something. It just takes an idea and something to record it on. And that's it. When I figured that out my pen never left the page and transitioned to hands never leaving the keyboard thanks to modern technology. But I kind of want to go back to the old ways.

Not a feather tip dunked in ink like John Hancock, but just a pen and some paper. INDEPENDENCE! SIT DOWN JOHN! SIT DOWN JOHN! Will somebody open up a window? There's too many flies. I found some of my old journals and the thing that stands out is that you can tell how I felt at the time by analyzing my handwriting. It's something that is lost in the digital age like the lack of nonverbal communication in social media and text messages. I see the irony of mentioning it on an internet blog post but in my journals my handwriting would change if I had a couple of drinks or if I wrote fast to get my ideas out on the page before I forgot them. There's so much character in those journals; so much life. I need to go back to writing on a daily basis.

So that's why I'm calling June "Write Every Day Month." I'm sure that's not the official theme of this month but it is for me. I'll try to throw some things on here for you if you want to follow along with my adventure but like I said before, I really want to get back to the old school writings I used to do before the internet. As much as I love the net, it has changed everything. Some good, some bad. This is just an introduction to the month. I would say more but right now I'm camping and I promised myself that I would stay off my phone this weekend. Whoops. So I'm going to shut this contraption off, drink some whiskey and try not to start the god damn forest on fire. Smokey the Bear wouldn't like that shit. No Sir. Smokey the Bear would be pissed off. And believe me, you don't want to piss off a bear who wears a hat and carries a shovel.

-pookon-

www.pookon.com