So Dream Something begins!...

It's time for the big announcement! As we get ready to ring in the new year, let me share with you my most exciting project for 2013: So Dream Something!

Being a dreamer - following a dream - makes us happier, healthier people.
It turns our focus to the future.
It nourishes our hearts.
So Dream Something is a podcast in which I will speak to dreamers pursuing their dreams and learn how it has changed their lives for the better.

http://www.kenlasalle.com/so-dream-something

You can listen to Episode One here: http://sodreamsomething.libsyn.com/webpage

or by clicking this link: http://traffic.libsyn.com/sodreamsomething/So_Dream_Something_episode_1.mp3

How about this for one year?...

I don't often talk a whole lot about my writing on this blog but as the year comes to a close take a look at what 2012 held for me...

First Published Novel

Climbing Maya (which ended up hitting #16 on Amazon!)

 

First Published Audiobook
The Worth of Dreams The Value of Dreamers (The #5 Inspirational Audiobook in Finland!)

Dynamic Pluralism signed with an agency

Wormfood Island signed with an agency

Work of Art: Joseph’s Flowers signed with an agency

My Own Website

 

… And that was just the headlines.

2012 was the year I got shorter…

Since time immemorial… well, since 1984 at least, I have always worn jeans sized 36x32. Even as I got older and even as I got fatter, I made sure my jeans were 36x32. If my jeans began getting too snug, I’d know to stop eating so I could still fit in my jeans. When my jeans got looser, I’d know I had my weight under control.

But I could never have guessed what really made my jean size change…

A while back, I realized the cuffs of my jeans were dragging. After a while, they were always dragging. Eventually, I had to start rolling up my cuffs.

Must be the brand of jeans I’m wearing, I reasoned. They simply made a longer 32 length jean… right?

Well, if you read the subject line, you’d know that not to be the case.

Today, when I went to buy a new pair of jeans, I grabbed a size 36x30 jean – just as a lark! And when I put them on, they fit beautifully – not too tight, not binding – and then, it hit me!

They were the right length!!

Somewhere out there, I had shrunk! Shrunk!

Now, I know people get shorter as they get older but, dammit, I’m not that old! I’m only 47! I’m not supposed to start shrinking, yet, am I?

… AM I?????

… still, there was no escaping it. Somewhere along the line, I lost two inches of height.

It’s going to be difficult readjusting to life as a short man. I’m going to have to start using stepping stools. I’m going to have to just up and wave just to be seen.

I’ll have to stand on my tip-toes to kiss Vicky…

Sigh, ain’t old age a bitch?

What is So Dream Something?...

There are a few things Vicky does not understand about video games…

There are a few things Vicky does not understand about video games… which is why that makes such a great subject line for this blog entry.

You see, Steam is having their holiday sale right now and oodles and oodles of awesome video games are as low as $4.99 a pop! $4.99!

I have a few problems with that on my end, however, and most of them begin and end with the fact that I don’t have time to play video games. Oh, don’t get me wrong. It’s not like I don’t want to. I do! I WANT TO!

But time and (whatever passes for maturity) has shown me the futility in buying video games. I tend to work an awful lot, which leaves little time… very little time.

So, when Steam puts Skyrim on sale or FarCry3, I know I don’t have time to play them. When Steam has a great price on Saints Row 2 or 3 or Sleeping Dogs, I remember there was a reason why I didn’t pick it up to begin with – I just don’t have the time.

Oh, and I don’t have the money, either. Let’s not kid ourselves.

So, when Vicky says to me, “If you want a game, just buy it,” she doesn’t realize that, like an addict, it’s not just one game I want. I WANT THEM ALL! And I’ll buy them all, which will mean spending far more than she can imagine, and then they’ll all sit silently, waiting for me to find the time to play them.

Again, it’s not because I don’t want to… I do! And like the old guy who dreams of sitting on his porch and reading all the classics when he retires, I dream of playing all the terrific video games I’ve missed…

I’ll need cheat codes, of course. I mean, face it, after I retire I won’t have the patience or the time (I could die at any minute) to waste respawning, will I?

Almost unemployed...

This has been quite the year for employment.

I don’t mean to underplay that, either. It has been quite the year.

I began the year with a terrific job at a place called The Write Connection. (I only mention the name since they’re out of business.) After a few months, however, the owner hired a new office manager who turned out to be crazy and who ran the whole place into the ground. Just lovely. Then, I worked for a fledgling ISP and a law office. They didn’t work out.

Now, I’m working for a trampoline company. Yep, you heard that right. It’s nice to be working somewhere that makes such a fun, wholesome, and enjoyable (if potentially life-threatening) product.

But then, the other day, everything went quiet and I couldn’t get any replies to my emails. I found myself caught in a kind of terror because I realized just how sick I was of having to find a new employer. Sure, I’m a freelance worker with my focus mostly on my books, but all the same I take my freelance work seriously as well. What had happened? I wondered. What went wrong?

Turned out… nothing. It was just that kind of day. But it was a day that clarified some things for me in my mind.

For a long time, I’ve talked about how important my writing career is for me and how my freelance work is only on the side to help pay some bills. What I didn’t realize, or at least what I wasn’t admitting, was how important my freelance work is as well.

I mean, I put a lot of work into that. And when it’s something I can take pride in – as opposed to the law firm that just made me feel dirty – I would feel terrible losing it.

It’s a strange revelation but nice to know in a way, not that I don’t want to lose my job but that I actually care about what I do. It’s easy to be cynical and nice to know that hasn’t happened.

Not yet.

"Right to Work" takes away rights...

For those of you who haven't seen a rant for a while in these here parts... look no further:

http://greenheritagenews.com/taking-away-your-rights/

Click the above link for my view on the so-called "Right to Work" laws and how they are actually far more effective at stripping people of their rights.

Being Thankful…

You usually hear these kinds of stories around Thanksgiving. You know, “Why we should be thankful, etc. etc.”

But the pursuit of my dream has not always been peaches and cream. In fact, there have been plenty of times this year when I’ve wanted to give up. And I think those are the times when it’s especially important to remember to be thankful, when everything is unsure.

So, I hope you check out my new piece over on Recovering the Self. You can find it by clicking this link: http://www.recoveringself.com/fulfilling-your-dreams/being-thankful.

I hope you enjoy it.