Following Through

Goals are important. Resolutions, too. Anything you can plan out in an attempt to better your life, to accomplish something, to make a positive change that will increase the odds of happiness, all of it is gold. Being a planner, that step is important. Whether it's writing a five page essay about a poem or getting ready to walk down the aisle, planning is and should be an integral part of the process. Planning is the launching pad from which you are able to complete the task at hand. But all the planning in the world can't help you if you don't have the will to do it.

Back in March, I wrote about my lifelong desire to have piano skills as a hidden talent. Well I guess it wasn't lifelong, or I probably would have taken piano lessons as a kid. But as I breech the barrier into my adult years, I am jealous of those with the dexterous ability to rattle the ivories. And the moral of that story? It's never too late to start, so avoid the complacency of my comfortable life and take action. I was very pleased with this idea. But words that are digitally imprinted on the screen can only mean so much. It would be my dream if my words were able to inspire someone to start something new and explore new experiences, but what kind of hypocrite if I never followed through myself. I don't want to be a theorist, writing based on what I think as opposed to what I have done, or what I will do. How empty will my words fall on your ears if you knew I didn't heed my own advice? Talk is cheap, so to speak. Like the phrase I love, 'Be the change you wish to see in the world.'

Well, you will be happy to know that 5 weeks ago, I began my first piano lesson under the guidance of my brilliantly talented cousin, who, not surprisingly, was forced to take piano lessons before he knew what a piano was. I traveled to his apartment a mere mile and a half away, and over several beers and almost constant laughter, we knocked out a solid hour of beginner learning. What I've come to find out is as challenging I thought it would be to learn something new as an adult, the capacity of my mind to apply knowledge makes learning the fundamentals of playing piano quite a bit easier than I anticipated. While a 4 year old might be instructed to place fingers on keys and push down when told, the adult mind can comprehend the general ideas, and as long as the lesson is catered to an adult mind, much more can be accomplished in a short period of time. Not knowing for sure how serious my cousin was, he claimed that I learned in 1 hour what he learned in 1 year as a kid. This little comparison was not only staggering, but encouraging. It kind of makes me mad that I didn't start this earlier. I could have been Sebastian Bach by now. But the long talked about meeting was everything I had hoped, and definitely got me paging through websites about piano and trying to learn as much as I could without being in his presence or having a keyboard of my own to practice on. Slipping between two busy schedules, we met again two weeks after our kickoff lesson. Now with his expectation, the hits continued to be delivered. With the basics coming easier than I thought, I knew this was something I would stick with. And I am pleased to announce that 13 days ago, after a little Criagslist negotiating, I took home my very first keyboard, opening the door to hours of practicing and annoying my roommate.

Goal: Learn to play the piano. Plan: Ask cousin to teach me. Result: ACTUALLY DID IT

Back in August, I wrote about my trip to New York City. Not so much about the trip, but about some of the phenomenal pictures that I took. My plan was to use these as more than Facebook entertainment and get them printed, poster size, frame them, and decorate my walls with personal art. The idea was that the sense of accomplishment can be more valuable than the result. I may be able to purchase some kickass panoramic posters of the NYC skyline and the Brooklyn Bridge, but being able to point to the name at the bottom of the frame and smile, knowing its your own signature, is priceless.

Well, once again, great in theory, but without action, empty. The posters (2) are ordered (from Large Format Posters.com), the frames have been purchased (36" x 12"), and within the next week, my apartment will be newly decorated by original art. I decided against the whole 'three pictures taken within 50 feet of each other,' and instead found my two favorite pictures, cropped them to fit, and though that it would look better on the wall. I have a picture of Central Park, with some hills, trees, and buildings, that when chopped down, really takes a special form. The second is a picture of the heart of Manhattan, Empire State Building acting as the center piece, with a few cables of the Brooklyn Bridge slicing through the frame. I am beyond excited to see how these will turn out, and even more excited to adorn my walls with something I created.

Goal: Decorate my walls with something I created. Plan: Find my favorite two NYC pictures and crop til perfect. Result: ACTUALLY DID IT

The point of this post wasn't to toot my own horn, but you're welcome to toot it for me. The point is, the best theories in the world mean nothing if there is no result. I try, very hard, to live by the way I describe in my writing. Whether it's refusing to overheat when yet another person flies up the right lane on Addison at Western without turn right, or slowing down my thoughts enough to get a decent night’s sleep, I wouldn't write it if I didn't believe in it. But believing in it is different than doing it. And following through with what you proclamation is what separates the ‘phonies’ from the ‘realies.’ And I am here to tell you that I can be hypocritical. I can be lazy when I claim to be motivated. I can be an asshole when I claim to be a nice guy. I can even have a short fuse when I claim to be as calm and relaxed as possible. But it's not often. And I am truly proud to say that I have followed through with two things that I could have easily only used to write about.

And I can honestly say, not only am I a.) avoiding complacency and b.) accomplishing something myself, but I am adding a skill set and a sweet new decoration. The results are multiplied. I hope you find the same reward when you follow through with something you've wanted to start. It's never too late.

Native Tourist

Vacations are amazing; I don't think that's up for discussion. You get to see new places or visit old favorites, meet new people or see old family, try new adventures and ignore work emails, all under a mindset that allows for complete relaxation and carefree fun. When approached in the right context, vacations are not just a break from the common scenery you've been consumed with for monotonous month after month, but it can be a break from life. Even if month after month doesn't feel the same, especially in Chicago where the temperature can change 50 degrees in the same week, there is still a certain amount of mystery and excitement that surrounds a getaway of any kind. And that getaway could just be taking a few days to bum around the house, do a few projects, some yard work, some shopping, and just taking advantage of down time in your own house and in your own bed. Some might call this a stay-cation, but it elicits the same feelings of carefree relaxation.

One option that isn't often considered is what I experienced on Saturday. A good friend of mine had an old friend coming to visit that wasn't too familiar with downtown Chicago. Now, I have had a Chicago address for exactly two years. I've ridden the Red Line from 95th to Howard, I've been to movies in Millennium Park, I've swam in a pool 44 stories above ground, and generally, done a decent job making my way throughout neighborhoods, buildings, pubic transits, and establishments in my time here. So while it seemed like I was an ideal candidate to play tour guide, what transpired made for such a memorable day, 3 cameras couldn't even capture everything.

If you haven't figured it out yet, I'm talking about being a tourist in your own backyard, seeing it as a foreign land instead of your stomping grounds, and allowing yourself to treat your time like there's no plan, no schedule, no sense of responsibility, and just letting loose.

So what happened? We took the Red Line down to Chicago Ave, walked past The Water Tower (ya know, that thing that survived the damn Chicago fire), and headed north to the Hancock building. At the base, it's as overwhelming as ever. The 40 second elevator ride left my ears in a constant state of popped, but the views from the observatory were worth it (even if the views from my brother's roof are half as impressive and kind of ruined the surprise). We (the girls) did some Michigan Avenue shopping, which albeit wasn't the most exciting thing in the world, it still felt very touristy. And after passing on the 45-60 minute wait for Uno or Due (deep dish pizza places), we walked over to Portillos for a magnificent Chicago style late lunch, officially kicking off our drinking, and sending the day into a level of fun that didn't dip the rest of the evening. We bounced from bar to bar, hitting up Clark St Ale House, Mothers Too, Benchmark, Market (briefly), Bon V, and Exit, taking in the trendy to the chill, the fratty to the hardcore.

Like I said, it's less what we did, and more how we did it. Granted, one member of our crew was actually from out of town, while another member resides in a distant suburb, but my brother and I are Chicagoan city dwellers that explored and partied like we weren't from here. It felt like a mini vacation for me, even though I traveled about 10 miles, round trip. I had the fun, the rush, the excitement of trying some new things and meeting some new people, but I had the comfort of sleeping in my own bed. There are thousands of exciting adventures in the world that I want to try, there are hundreds of cities in dozens of countries that I would love to visit, and there are experiences that will be so far out of my daily life that I can't help but to call them exotic, but I think it's important to be able to appreciate what is lying in your backyard. And while you might explore the surrounding area often, even as I described, to do it like you're on vacation is something more. Experiencing the familiar in an unfamiliar way can be enlightening, worthwhile, and refreshing. And that short statement can be applied so many ways in so many parts of life, it's up to you how you use it. Let's see what you can do.

Fall: Looks Like the Lives Are Changing

As summer winds down, only days away from the official beginning of autumn, I find the contours of my life changing alongside the colors and the temperatures that a new season brings. At no point did I think that nothing would ever change, but as I inch closer and closer to my quarter century mark, some of the relatively static portions of everyday living are being shuffled, exchanged, swapped, altered, and reformatted. As more and more friends move away, pair off, move out, tie the knot, and start families, the dynamic of our relationships will shift with the additional construction supplanted all around. It's inevitable. And although inevitable, there are still several different ways that you can react, eventually dictating what level of happiness you are able to carve out of the trees that once surrounded you.

1.) Follow Suit, Turtle Style

So your life is changing around you. The rest of the world is in motion, advancing, maturing, discovering new journeys with new people, leaving you caught in the middle, surrounded by the rush. Well, we can take a lesson from physics, ya know, the whole 'equal and opposite reaction' thing. Well flip it. Instead of combating these new trends, flinging yourself into a propelled tailspin, further distancing yourself from the very life you wished to stay connected to; you turn and run with them, greatly minimizing the impact. Physics analogy aside, you follow your friends, your peers. The more and more "First Name Maiden Name Last Name" titles you see in your friends list on Facebook, the more and more you want to join them. So if you were behind the curve in the beginning, you shorten the distance and make up ground.

What does this do? Well it keeps you with the lead pack, or if nothing else, on the lead lap. Maybe it was the motivation you needed to take some new strides and make some new plans. This might be the best thing that ever happened to you. It also might be a mistake that you rush into because you believe it's where you're supposed to be, when in reality, like I've stated previously, "we're all wired differently, built differently, composed of the same parts, but we're all running different software." So to constantly compare your progress with those that you've always been around might be misleading. It can be a good measuring stick, but at the end of the day, you have to decide on what makes the most sense for you, what you're comfortable with, and forget about the variables. If you would have ended up in the same spot, then you got lucky. But those chances usually aren't very high (with no actual proof to back any of this up, mind you. Just my thoughts).

2.) Stand Your Ground, General Custer Style

Let's look at that same physics tid bit, ya know, the whole 'equal and opposite reaction' thing, but this time from the other side. So your life is changing around you, but you're not ready to move. You like the butt rut you've grooved into your La-Z-Boy and it would take a helluva wind storm to blow you over. In some twisted form of protest, you make it a point to participate in any activity that your fleeting world has left behind, regardless of what it may be. This doesn't only apply to the mid-twenties, but any time frame during your lifespan where you feel your world shifting seemingly without notice. So as a self-proclaimed outcast, you rebel, and also seemingly unknowingly, you begin to pour your own cement, guaranteeing the stagnant build-up of stale decisions and a lacking motivation.

What does this do? Well, it completely ostracizes you from the world you are trying to hold on to, it creates a lifestyle set up for complacency, and most likely leads to an attempt to ice pick away the dried mortar that keep your legs from moving in a positive direction. Okay, maybe I made that sound a little more harsh than necessary, but choosing to directly oppose those you wanted to keep close should never end in the place you wanted to get to. It just doesn't make sense.

3.) Explore New Land, Lewis and Clark Style

Physics be damned (not literally, just for this scenario). When that whirlwind of debris kicks up, leaving you blind, if you don't run with it, and you don't run into it, if you time it right, pick your gaps, maybe, just maybe, you can run through it. Be not confined by what those around you are doing, and instead, take your experiences, take your friends' experiences, take what you already know and combine it with what you want to know, and explore. While the comfort of a familiar life is, comforting... it can also be restricting without squeezing. You can be tied-down with no strings attached. And even though the life you're leading is everything you think you could want, there is an unfathomable amount of options and people and experiences that might not otherwise be experienced.

What does this do? Well, if done correctly, it merges what you loved from the present with your adventures from the future in some sort of newly evolved balance. Every life is and should be different, and no one way to live it is correct. But if you look at situations in the right light, at the right angle, and keep twisting them until you see an opportunity, you can almost always find a way to make your life fulfilling enough to skip over the lulls and disappointments, the valleys and the ruts. After all, "if you don't like it, change it. But if you can't change it, change the way you look at it."

Fantasy Island

Fantasy Football (FF) is a funny term. Everyone knows that FF has taken over mainstream male culture when summer starts to fade into fall (Not to exclude women, but let's be honest, a higher percentage of guys are participating in FF). You can't watch a sports station or check a sports website without hearing about injury updates and trade rumors and depth chart swapping and how all of this will impact your team. And if you're anything like me, FF was too overwhelming and ruined my viewing experience. I had a team (the Bears), and I watched them. Trying to catch the last few minutes of the Chiefs game to see if Larry Johnson would break 100 yards seemed silly. Why would I root for someone who isn't directly helping my hometown helmet-bashers?

Well, last season, wanting to be a part of the phenomenon as opposed to looking in, I joined a league. Maybe it was the Bill Simmons articles, maybe it was the lure of winning money and proving my dominance in football knowledge, but either way, once I joined I decided not to take it lightly. I began listening to pod casts, taking notes, making spreadsheets, watching ESPN, pillaging through their website, taking pointers from any voice of reason I could imagine, hopefully preparing myself for success. Well, long story short, I did well. Lead the league in cumulative points for the season (won me $30), lead the league in points in 3 different weeks (another $12), but lost my semi-final playoff game and ended up taking 4th (net -$8 after the $50 entry fee).

Generally, I found the experience extremely enjoyable. My logic of not wanting to root for anyone not playing for the Bears was completely flawed. Take this season for example: I expect nothing from the Bears. Their lackluster 19-14 victory because of a poorly written rule over the woeful Lions is nothing more than a perfect encapsulation of how I predict their season to go: Shows flashes of upside, but really, only a few plays better than a crappy team, so with some luck, might end up .500.

Not to get caught up in sports posts these days, but this goes right back to my die-hard mentality about the Cubs. The same way I can truly appreciate the relief of not having to watch the Cubs every because they are 20 games under .500 is the same way I can become engrossed in checking the scores and box scores of 8 different games every weekend, with lucrative possibilities abound. The ante went up to $75 this year, so the better my fantasy team does, the closer I am to a Christmas bonus.

You hear nay-sayers point out all these adult men only fantasizing about playing football instead of actually doing it, about all of us that are trying to hold on to glory by fanning our feathers and imposing our football domination. And the ironic insult, calling us all nerds for crunching numbers and extrapolating entire seasons about this punishing game we all wish we were stars of.

But I'm here to say that as much as FF isn't real life, it's real for those of us who participate. It gives us something to occupy our time with. It brings us closer to friends, and maintains relationships with those that have spread out around the country or world. It keeps our interest in a long, slow, depressing fall season where new TV shows bomb, the weather gets worse and worse, and year after year, our home team continues to under-perform. We all know that FF isn't the real thing, and that there is as much luck as skill involved in drafting the proper crop of players, but if this small miracle of online athlete tracking can yield such positive results, it is something that should be relished as opposed to questioned. Seeing the 'Fantasy Tracker' on the bottom of the screen might annoy some, but to many of us, it's just one more way to survive, to give us hope, to give us something to look forward to each week and each year.