2024 02 01
Mundane street scene, which has a little something going for it which I can’t fully articulate in my awakened state. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. November, 2023. © Clayton Hauck
Doing a new post every sinlge day is, admittedly, a bit much. I’ve had the idea to attempt this for years and even started the process once, quickly abandoning it after only a few days. You miss that first day and feel like shit, then let it go a few more because why not, then feel like a failure altogether and write the whole project off as a bad idea to make yourself feel better about the whole thing.
In this attempt, the idea came to me rather suddenly over the holiday break. I was stuck at home with Covid, which I tested positive for on Christmas. Thinking the new year was only a few days away, I could quickly get a simple website up and running, and when I found the .com domain was still available, took it as a sign I needed to act fast and make it happen. I spent a full day building a buffer of simple posts to give me some momentum. The buffer is key! It’s like a streaming video service loading ahead, only with my thoughts and photos, in case some days the internet connection otherwise known as my motivation isn’t working as well. I currently have about 20 days worth of posts already scheduled to go live. If I should unexpectedly perish, you’ll still get a couple weeks of dumb thoughts out of me!
This post date, however, is only a few days out as I write this and had been sitting empty in the draft folder. Awaiting inspiration. Maybe the image isn’t strong enough to spark an idea? This is sort of a bland image that I’ve considered deleting on multiple occasions but just has something about it I like, which led me to leave it in, awaiting that inspiration. While it may be a stretch, it finally hit me: the house appears as a bit of a blank slate. This blog is also a canvas of sorts which I’m using to try things, experiment, play, see what happens.
I woke up this morning while a dream was playing out in my head. The specific details don’t matter, but my mind seemed to be working out some kind of project; this led me to contemplate things a bit deeper after I was awake; this led to some constructive progress on a possible future project. I feel strongly that doing work consistently, putting in the time, this blog, is a key way to train your brain and keep it on task. All of the best ideas come when you’re sound asleep (or in the shower or on a run) and they can formulate without the pesky distractions of life and anxiety-fueled second guessing. Doing something every day is a great way to keep it top of mind when you go to sleep and have the freedom of unrestricted thought.
With that, goodnight, and see you tomorrow.
-Clayton
