My Own Small Town Perception




As I sit in a coffee shop in Puyallup, Washington--a suburb right outside of Seattle--I grow an appreciation for the small town life. The sense of community-- not being afraid to speak to the people around you--I think I've lost that atmosphere with my time in LA.

Now, I'm no stranger to the suburbs outside of a major city. I grew up in a small desert town of Palmdale, California--inside the heart of the Mojave desert. Though it was set within the boundaries of LA county, it was very much a suburban city with its pockets of rural bliss. A major city still felt very much foreign to me.

Though I lived in Los Angeles close to ten years now, I still call my small town community home. I guess I find my peace whenever I visit my home town. My perspective on the world derives from my upbringing, the way that i looked at the world and how everything can fit within it.

Yes, at times, it became sheltering--living in the middle of nowhere has a tendency to block out what's really going on in the world outside. Those who have never left the farm--I coin these people "lifers"-- remain in a sort-of perpetual arrested development, stunted in their growth for never wanting anything more out of life.

However, that observation--really an assumption on my part--was really an over-generalization. Who am I to say that people in rural/suburban communities are living any less of a life than me? I chose to move out of my small town for the big city because that was what I valued, but that doesn't mean I should hold everyone else to that same standard.

So my metropolitan arrogance slowly dissipates when I take this moment; I embrace the town from nowhere. The smell of ground roasted coffee and the knick-knacks that decor the walls gives me peace--a chance to step back and reflect.

I am trying to become an observer--someone who can listen and soak life in. My writing suffers from lack of detail and it is a shame because I feel that the details are all that's left in my memories.

As I explore a new depth to writing, the focus on the here-and-now becomes prevalent. To seek a three dimensional space with my words and to provide a richness in description that I hope will enhance your reading experience.

I'll be back in LA soon and will get back at it at the coffee shop.

Thank you and we will chat soon.

AB

Podcasting: A New Media Revolution




You are probably wondering, "why the pictures?" 

To put it simply, I decided to practice some photography with the hopes that it can stoke my creativity towards writing. The photos above were taken with my Galaxy S5 and I guess after all this I realized that I'm fascinated with black and whites. Here are some images that I took during my trip in Seattle and I hope to get better --perhaps start learning to enhance the pictures through photoshop. 

With that said, I am back in LA with my well refilled and a fresh attitude towards taking on life by storm!

So, in order for me to find time to write, I have to keep a pretty regimented schedule for myself. With a forty hour per week, 9-5er, finding the time needed inside that magic hour of inspiration is a rarity in itself.

Twenty-four hours in a day is really not a lot of time to get that quality writing in. Most of the time I'm grumpy and distracted with the idea that I haven't had the time to get my quota --and with creative projects that I have set as benchmarks for myself, I really feel the clock ticking.

So how do I balance it all?

I've been trying to learn from the many who have walked before me --those who are still very much walking the same tumultuous journey.

One thing that really has kept me on course has been podcasting. Several podcasts featuring talented writers of all disciplines, from Scriptnotes, Nerds Writers Podcast, Children of Tendu, have allowed me to connect to the creative community of screenwriters by way of new media.

The Writer Files has an interesting setup in how they were agnostic in terms of the type of writing and are focused towards "keeping the ink flowing" and how the featured writers maintain a productive work flow.

These ides and practices become important to any new writer such as myself. The journey has become such an isolated process that finding any pearls of wisdom is like spring water from a desert oasis. Most of the times the advice becomes universal: to keep on writing. The key to creativity is to get out of your own way and allow yourself to imagine without inhibition or self-doubt.

If you are a fellow writer such as myself, check out anyone of these podcasts and maybe suggest some my way. I am always looking for new sources of inspiration.

Take care and I'll be talking to you all soon.

AB

Mirrors: A First Take On the Man Inside



My no surprise to anyone, I will admit that I have my own set of problems.
Why am I saying this?
Because the first rule to growth is to become bare with yourself. Change and improvement cannot happen with constant denial or hiding from the issue. So I take a look into the mirror and really take a deep assessment to find out what's going wrong.
Some would say that I am a bit of an emotional person, but not in terms of an overly sensitive "thinned-skinned" sort of personality. I would say that I have a bit of a temper problem--an inability to just let things go.
Now, I have to take a step back and explain that I am a even keeled, rational person that, say, doesn't fly off the handle when getting cut-off on the road--hell, I rarely honk the car horn.
I have a public persona that appears friendly, social, and calm in almost any public environment.
But that's not what I'm talking about. We all walk among each other with two very distinct notions of who we are; the mask that we put on for our day jobs. It is in my private moments when I tend to let my inner self rise to the surface.
I can't help but bring pain to the ones I love and it is not my intention to do so. It is as if I present my best version of myself to the entire world and at the end of the day -- out of sheer exhaustion -- I only offer the scraps of myself to those who truly deserve more.
And why is that? If I had the answer I'd definitely wouldn't be writing this now. Done, sealed, bring me the check and call it a day. So what gives?
The best answer I can offer right now is that I harbor ill feelings towards an invisible advesary. What I mean is that I hold tension within my spirit, this attitude about life that cannot be expressed in any other way besides pent up aggression.
I'm no scientist, but pressure that does not find release or escape can only build to the point of combustion. What you have now is something that is not so subtle and can cause damage to anything, or anyone, standing nearby.
This aggressive resentment has shown to be quite combustible towards my closest relationships. And when you add the extremely flammable elixir of alcohol, it becomes dangerous.
So there, in front of the entire Web--or at least to those who can read this message--I'm freely acknowledging that I have anger management issues. It is why I am so keen on finding avenues towards happiness and expression--and it is especially why I have found my calling towards writing.
This isn't as much of a hobby or passion as it is an effing prescription for myself. These pages and blank screens are the wet stone to sharpen the blade and release the tension between my bones. It is why I keep coming back to this page after sometime away. I know I take many of them along this journey but I know that I have to make the effort, or lose myself along the way.
I only hope that you will be there to listen.
Now that I have found my new vigor, I hope to be coming back soon. Take care friend and I'll be chatting with you soon.